St Kilda Taxes, Taxes & First Home Buyer Handouts
• Read about full Stamp Duty now payable on ‘Off the Plan’ Sales
• Increased First Home Buyers assistance
• What the State Government gives with one hand it’s taking with the other.
• The new ‘Vacant Property Tax’???
Yes, on the 1st of July 2017 First Home Buyers will receive a huge boost in assistance with the scrapping of Stamp Duty completely on residential property in Victoria costing up to $600,000. Those spending up to $750,000 will still receive some stamp duty discounts. This will represent thousands and thousands of dollars’ worth of savings to First Home Buyers. This also comes at a time when the First Home Buyer Grant on new property in regional areas increases to a whopping $20,000 up from $10,000.
Now the Ying & the Yang!
From 1st July 2017 the Stamp Duty savings offered to all buyers of ‘Off the Plan’ sales will be abolished. This saving originally introduced to boost new home building, employment and supply of housing stock will not be available to investor buyers but will only apply to those who qualify for the principle place of Residence Stamp Duty Concession or the First Home Buyer Stamp Duty Exemption/ Concession.
BUT!!………… How about this New Tax?
The bureaucrats at Spring Street are wanting to introduce the ‘Vacant Residential Property Tax’ from 1st January 2018. This will be 1% of ‘Capital Improved Value’ payable on residential property that is vacant for more than a total of 6 months per year applying to properties located in the middle and inner suburbs of Melbourne. Some practical exemptions apply such as holiday homes, city pads, Decreased Estates and where Victorians are travelling overseas etc.
This sounds like it will be a can of worms and anyway, why should the State Government Tax you if you choose to leave your property vacant?
Even allowing for the well-intended reasons for the proposed Tax such as encouraging owners to make dwellings available to rent or for purchase, this is a Big Brother Tax and the State Revenue Office should stay out of property owner’s lives. If an owner chooses to leave their own property vacant it is the owner’s right and this tax is OTT!!
For details on;
– New 1st home buyer initiatives
– New ‘Off the Plan’ Stamp Duty arrangement
– The Vacant Property Tax
