Treasurer Dominic Perrottet will undertake the state’s biggest tax reform in decades with stamp duty to be phased out to boost the economy as NSW records a historic $16 billion budget deficit.
In his fourth budget, handed down on Tuesday, Mr Perrottet said replacing stamp duty with an annual land tax on new property transactions would be a key stimulus measure, injecting as much as $11 billion into the state’s economy over four years.
“This is the reform we need to implement,” Mr Perrottet said.
Mr Perrottet said the state’s stamp duty system was centuries old and needed to be overhauled to give residents a modern tax system.
The government will seek community consultation on its proposed model to replace the transfer tax until March, which would give people buying a property the choice between paying stamp duty upfront or opting for the smaller annual property tax.
The present stamp duty concessions for first home buyers would also be replaced with a $25,000 grant, with the option of using the money on refurbishing the property.
Mr Perrottet said he wanted stamp duty overhauled “as soon as possible”.
The state’s debt will peak at $104 billion in 2023/2024 and the budget will not return to surplus until 2024/2025. NSW has not had a budget in the red for almost a decade.
Sourced By: SMH
