REIA faces tough sell in calling for end to stamp duty
The country's peak real estate industry body has called for the abolition of stamp duty but faces a tough task convincing the revenue-dependent states to relinquish one of their main sources of income.
Stamp duty as a percentage of state earnings has leapt in the past decade, while land tax is often touted as an alternative. (Image source: Shutterstock.com)
The property industry’s peak body has launched a campaign to abolish a property transaction tax that now accounts for between 24 and 40 per cent of the various state governments’ revenues.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has stamp duty in its crosshairs as it targets the tax it says burdens first-home buyers with an additional four years of saving.
It promises to be a difficult sell to the states, whose reliance on the tax has onl…
