Elimination of stamp duty that has been in effect for the past 10 years
Requirements related to real estate loans are also relaxed.
The Hong Kong government has decided to completely abolish regulations applied to transactions in order to revive the stagnant real estate market.
According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post (SCMP) and China’s Xinhua News Agency on the 28th, Hong Kong Finance Minister Paul Chan announced the abolition of all regulations related to real estate transactions in his government finance budget speech.
Accordingly, regulations that had been applied for the past 10 years to suppress speculation were immediately abolished. The ‘Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD)’, which was paid by those who do not live in Hong Kong when purchasing real estate, and the ‘New Residential Stamp Duty (NRSD)’ levied on those who own two homes have been abolished. In the past, these taxes were levied at approximately 15% and 7.5% of the real estate price, respectively.
Additionally, homeowners do not have to pay ‘special stamp duty (SSD)’ if they sell their home within two years.
Minister Chan said, “After careful consideration of the current situation, we have decided to immediately cancel all demand-side management measures for residential real estate, namely regulations to avoid having to pay SSD, BSD and NRSD,” adding, “Given the current economic and market conditions, further related measures are needed.” “I don’t think it’s needed anymore,” he said.
It was also decided to relax requirements related to real estate loans. The financial authorities raised the loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of owner-occupied real estate from 60% to 70% for homes worth less than HK$30 million (about KRW 5.1 billion), and from 50% to 60% for homes worth more than HK$35 million (about KRW 6 billion). It was decided to increase each by percentage.
For non-owner-occupied residential properties, the maximum percentage increases from 50% to 60%.
In addition, it was decided to extend the tax reduction for electric vehicles that was scheduled to expire next month, while also reinstating the previously exempt hotel accommodation tax and taking measures to fill the fiscal deficit, such as increasing income tax and cigarette tax on the salaries of high-income earners. .
In addition, the Hong Kong government predicted the real economic growth rate for the 2024-2025 fiscal year to be 2.5-3.5% per year.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.