Stamp duty increases 695%
Property buyers around Australia have suffered colossal increases in stamp duty over the past two decades.
Melbourne has suffered the biggest stamp duty inflation between 1995 and 2015, with an increase of 695 per cent, according to new research from the Property Council of Australia.
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Stamp duty has risen during that time from $4,060 to $32,282, based on median house prices.
Sydney stamp duty has jumped 649 per cent, from $4,685 to $35,090, while Perth has jumped 638 per cent, from $2,600 to $19,190.
Brisbane is up 532 per cent, from $1,329 to $8,400, while Canberra is up 437 per cent, from $3,765 to $20,200.
Adelaide has also climbed 437 per cent, from 3,230 to $17,330, while Hobart has risen 427 per cent, from $2,335 to $12,295.
Darwin stamp duty has increased from $3,735 to $28,339 – although that 659 per cent increase was based on a starting year of 2000 not 1995.
Property Council of Australia chief executive Ken Morrison said stamp duty has become a “runaway cash grab” that is locking out potential home buyers.
“These astounding increases in the costs of stamp duty are nothing short of scandalous,” Mr Morrison said.
“The community should be outraged that they are being slugged with such excessive charges, especially at a time when housing affordability is an acute challenge.”
