Homebuyers paid Hong Kong government HK$133 billion in tax over past eight years, and stamp duty is here to stay minister says
- Sum equivalent to a quarter of city’s 2017 expenditure and business sector wants officials to undo tax
- But housing minister Frank Chan said there was no plan to act while property prices remain high
Hong Kong’s public coffers have amassed almost HK$133 billion (US$17 billion) from stamp duty over the past eight years – and disclosure of the sum on Wednesday prompted calls to reduce the tax as the property market softens.
The city’s Transport and Housing Bureau revealed the figure in response to requests by lawmakers.
Enough to finance a quarter of the city’s HK$471 billion expenditure last year, the sum is the equivalent of 25 per cent of the estimated cost of the “Lantau Tomorrow Vision” – an ambitious and contentious HK$500 million government plan to create a huge artificial island for housing and offices.
Lawmakers representing the city’s business sector urged officials to undo extra stamp duties imposed in 2016 to slow runaway house prices.
But, housing minister Frank Chan Fan said there was no plan to act while prices remained high.