Good news from Australia...

From The Daily Mail:

The Victorian Government is reportedly considering scrapping stamp duty in favour of annual land tax payments. Often considered a growth-killer by economists, [stamp duty] is paid to Australian state governments when a home-buyer purchases a property.

But with a huge decline in the housing market, Premier Daniel Andrews is examining new ways to stimulate the state's real estate sector. While the price of the tax varies in different states and cities, in Melbourne where the median residential home is $819,611, the cost of stamp duty is $46,383.36, according to Core Logic data.

But since the coronavirus crisis began the state's property market has plummeted, leaving a massive hole in their annual $6billion cash cow... Even before the coronavirus derailed the property sector a report by the Productivity Commission in 2019 urged Scott Morrison to ditch the 'inefficient' tax in favour of an annual homeowners' tax.

"Shifting from stamp duties to a broad-based property tax could leave New South Wales up to $5 billion a year better off, while also improving housing affordability," the report said.

"Stamp duties are among the most inefficient and inequitable taxes available to the states and territories. In contrast, property taxes – which are levied on the value of property holdings – are the most efficient taxes available to the states and territories."

Fingers crossed!