Page 2615 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
In the first year, their insurance costs should decrease by around $75, and by the time the duty is completely abolished, they should be making savings of around $375 on their premium.
This is a good practical step to reduce cost of living and to abolish a disincentive to insure. Its benefits will be widely felt by individuals and businesses.
Today I also announce a series of tax changes that make housing more affordable and place downward pressure on rents.
These changes also send strong signals to the market about the type of housing currently being supplied and put the Territory’s revenue onto a more sustainable footing.
Stamp duty
We are starting a long-term plan to abolish stamp duty on conveyancing.
Over the next five years the Government will reduce the amount of stamp duty paid on all homes—beginning tomorrow.
From tomorrow a family buying a $500,000 home will pay $2,450 less in stamp duty than they would pay today.
In five years time the stamp duty on a $500,000 home will have reduced by over $7,000. This represents a 12 per cent reduction from tomorrow, rising to a 34 per cent reduction in five years time.
This will deliver more affordable homes to more Canberrans.
In addition to reducing stamp duty, today we are expanding access to and reconfiguring the existing home buyer concession scheme.
This concession scheme comes in addition to the reduction in stamp duty for housing purchases and acknowledges the special help that some sections of the community need to buy a home.
The scheme will continue to be available to households on lower than average incomes – and we are now making it available to more Canberrans by increasing the income threshold to $150,000. This is in line with the Federal Government’s threshold for income assistance and support.
A full concession will be available for properties valued in the bottom 25 per cent of the market, and increase to $385,000.
It means more people will be eligible for a reduction in stamp duty when buying a home.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video