Stamp duty bust threatens state budgets

Australia’s east coast state and territory governments are heavily reliant on stamp duties:

The sharp downturn in the property market, therefore, threatens to hammer state budgets at a time when they are drowning in debt, and global borrowing costs are rising.

S&P Global Ratings recently raised concerns that the nation’s record housing market downturn could create an $8-$10 billion budget black hole for state governments, driven by the removal of property tax concessions and a series of interest rate hikes.