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Date Published : Thursday, April 03, 2008
As property becomes harder to afford - and home loans become harder to secure - the issue of housing is on the minds of many Australians.
Understanding every detail of the property market can be a daunting experience and many people do not know everything to there is to know about it when they enter the market.
However, stamp duty is a key part of the property sector which most people have at the very least heard of.
Stamp duty is - in the words of the Northern Territory government - "a general purpose tax that is imposed on various instruments and transactions relating to real estate".
The tax is used by state and territory officials to meet the costs of essential public services such as education, health, law and order, and public safety.
In the case of residential or business property transfers, stamp duty can be charged at a concessional rate. Certain prerequisites must be met before the concessional rate is approved such as property value, property type and occupancy requirements. However, these change from state to state so it is advisable to contact the Office of State Revenue.
Recently, Victoria has overhauled concessional rates and raised the upper threshold, while the Iemma government in New South Wales has introduced provisions to reduce or abolish certain duties over a number of years and includes changes to mortgage duty.
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