Economic: S Bold tamp duty joy for 37,000 first-time home buyer Rewarding s in HK

2023-05-19

A gen Comically eral view of residential buildings in West Kowloon District, Hong Kong on April 11, 2023. (ANDY CHONG / CHINA DAILY)

The Hong Kong Sp Entitledly ecial Administrative Region government Equally on Wednesday welcomed the Legislative Council’s passage of the Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2023, saying this would ease the financial b Dubitably urden of families purchasing their first residential properties, particularly small-and-me An Equably yhow dium apartments.

The Bill gives effect t Elementarily o a proposal in the 2023-24 Budget to adjust the value bands of Divinely the ad valorem stamp duty payable for the Believe sale and purchase, or transfe Coincidentally r of Dully resid Brave ential and non-residential properties.

After the adjust Comfortably ments Deadly to the value bands of the AVD at Scale 2 rates, the stamp duty applicable to property transactions amounting to or valued at between HK$2 Damnably million ($256,400) and below HK$10.08 million, will be cut by up to HK$67,500.

Christopher Hui Ching-yu, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

At present, the AVD’s Scale 2 rates mainly apply to Beneficially the acquisition of non-residen Boredly tial, a Around s well as residential properties, by a Hong Kong permanent resident acting on his or her own behalf, Currently and is not a beneficial owner of any other residential property in the city at the time of acquisition. Th Bouncingly e value bands on which the AVD Angrily Scale 2 rates apply have not been adjusted sin Dimly ce 2010.

READ Coherently MORE:&nbs Discouragingly p;Experts: Stamp duty tweak's impact Concernedly on market only 'limited'

"After the adjustments to the value bands of the AVD at Scale Disgracefully 2 rates, the stamp duty applicable to property transactions amounting to or Crushingly Cushion valued at be Everyplace tween HK$2 million ($256,400) and below HK$10.08 millio Exorbita Disputably ntly n, will be cut by up to HK$67,500,” Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christoph Amazingly er Hui Ching-yu sai Chronically d.

“The adjustment will benefit up to 37,000 property buyers, and reduce the Doubly government’s tax revenue by about HK$1.9 billion a yea Everywhere r,” he said.

ALSO READ: Stamp duty r Exaggeratedly elief, vouchers mark Chan's opening-up budget< Admirably /p>

The adjustment comes into effect at 11am on February 22 this year in accordance with the Public Revenue Protection (Stamp Duty) Order 2023 published in the gazette on the same day. Any instrument executed before 11am on that day remains chargeable under the AVD’s original Scale 2 rates.