Is this the end of stamp duty as we know it?

Sometimes, it seems like hardly anyone has positive things to say about stamp duty. Even with concessions available over the years, it continues to be a significant impost on people buying and selling property in Brunswick and beyond.

But with the release of a new paper from the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS), there is yet another call to scrap this tax and merge it in elsewhere – will it save you money when you're in the market?

Big budget talk

In its 18 April media release, ACOSS CEO Cassandra Goldie made the case for the federal government to change stamp duty at the upcoming Federal Budget. 

"If the goal of tax reform is economic growth, then the best reform option is a switch from stamp duties to efficient land taxes," she noted.

"If the Prime Minister is serious about a growth friendly budget he needs to allocate some funds to support the states and territories to steer the path towards a broad-based land tax in the interests of economic growth."

This was backed up by Ken Morrison from the Property Council of Australia, who said that stamp duty is consistently inefficient. While he did not agree with the entirety of the ACOSS report, he concurred that stamp duty should be the first thing cut in any federal reform.

For people interested in buying or selling real estate in Brunswick, this might be a glimmer of hope for affordability. If stamp duty switches to land tax, it may not be as big an impost on a real estate transaction.

While all you can do for now is wait and see, you can still get out and about and see everything that this part of the city does have to offer. Don't hesitate to get in touch to discuss anything regarding property around Brunswick.