A national survey has revealed most Australians would like the government to address the “crippling” costs of stamp duty.
The survey, conducted by online property agency iBuyNew, asked homebuyers what they thought would be the best way for government to assist the property market. The results revealed that more than half (55%) of respondents thought the best way the government could address housing affordability was to cut stamp duty.
Following that, 30% of participants in the online survey suggested increasing first home buyer grants would be most effective, and 15% called for negative gearing to be scrapped.
iBuyNew CEO Mark Mendel agrees that most governments remain “over-reliant” on stamp duty.
“State governments still have an unhealthy dependence on stamp duty which is just a drag on the economy and a handbrake on homebuyers,” Mendel said.
“If governments are not prepared to abolish stamp duty they should at least consider reductions or more concessions for certain buyers.”
According to Mendel, the recent foreign investor tax surcharges announced by many state governments are also “greedy”.
“Foreigners buying property in Australia should be paying some tax but the measures that were recently announced by the NSW, Victorian and Queensland governments were over the top,” he said.
