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The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has launched a campaign to phase out stamp duty, which the country’s peak real estate body slammed as “an inefficient, unfair tax”.
The country’s peak real estate body has announced the start of its new national and multi-year campaign called “Axe the Tax”, which aims to remove stamp duty fees from the overall cost of purchasing a home anywhere in the country.
REIA president Hayden Groves stated that as the country moves through the current economic and real estate cycle, there is no area of reform that will have greater benefits than the removal of stamp duty.
“With cost-of-living pressures mounting, stamp duty remains a major hurdle to first home buyers, those wanting to move around the country or invest in much-needed rental supply,” he stated.
Further revealing how much of a hot button issue the reform is among industry players, Mr Groves said there is almost “universal agreement” about the stamp duty being “an inefficient, unfair tax that stifles labour mobility and penalises those seeking to move to areas where better employment, educational or lifestyle opportunities exist”.
Mr Groves added that stamp duty fees also serve as an added financial barrier to aspiring home buyers, as the fees can add around 4 per cent to the median house price of a home and pile on additional costs averaging $30,000 to the typical property purchased in the country.
“First home buyers seeking to buy established homes are forced to delay buying decisions to save for stamp duty,” Mr Groves stated.
He also highlights that the abolition of tax levied on property purchases comes at a critical time when the market is grappling with a supply shortage.
“In a time when housing supply presents such an immense challenge, the removal of stamp duty could increase sales and rental listings by up to 50 per within existing housing stock,” he stated.
“Both directly and indirectly, stamp duty is contributing to property supply in Australia being critically low and impacting housing and rental affordability in every state and territory.”
According to Mr Groves, the financial reprieve that comes with the repeal of stamp duty can potentially “kickstart the economy, improve affordability and supply, and make the real estate market accessible for everyone”.
With the failure of the delivery of stamp duty reforms during the introduction of the goods and services tax in 2000, Mr Groves said the undertaking would require the “will and collaboration of many” across real estate stakeholders and highlighted that “Axe the Tax” can jumpstart proper conversation regarding the issue.
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