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Late last year, the NSW Government announced brave changes to the state’s tax system that would offer owner-occupiers an alternative to stamp duty via a fixed $500 up-front fee plus an annual tax of 0.3% on unimproved land value.
Under these changes, the buyer of an average Sydney house would have the choice to pay either a $51,000 lump sum (the current stamp duty requirement) or around $2,000 each year.
However, once a property is subject to that annual tax, all future owners would be required to continue paying it.
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.