Accountants Divided Over Waiver Of Stamp Duty

Accountancy sector lawmaker Kenneth Leung has poured cold water on a suggestion that first-time home buyers should not have to pay stamp duty.

The Taxation Institute has proposed waiving the levy for first-time buyers whose flats cost less than HK$6 million and who live in them for at least three years.

But Leung said the timing is wrong.

“I think any movement on alleviating the stamp duty should be considered very carefully, because it may release a wrong message to the market that the government is encouraging to buy at this juncture,” he said.

“I think property prices are gradually declining … in a way, this has already alleviated some of the burden on first-time buyers,” he said.

Despite the recent falling property prices, the Taxation Institute's president, Jeremy Choi, said he believes waiving the stamp duty of first-time buyers would still be helpful to them.

“I think the property price is still on the high side although it’s dropping maybe 10 percent or 15 percent. From the prospective of first-time buyers, it’s still on the high side," he said.