REIWA congratulates the WA Government on their recent announcement to helphome ownersfrom falling behind on their payments and ensuring they have a roof over their head during the coronavirus outbreak.
As part of this relief package, households that are impacted by coronavirus can apply for an interest free payment arrangement and for late payment penalties to be waived for stamp duty, landholder duty or land tax.
In addition, payroll tax will be waived for a four-month for small to medium sized businesses with Australia-wide annual wages of less than $7.5 million in 2019-20 which will help many agencies in Western Australia who are struggling in this current environment.
REIWA President Damian Collins said the package was a positive step for the state, however it wont make enough impact to help boost the real estate industry.
We are urging the government to consider introducing a 75 per cent stamp duty reduction for six months on all properties, to encourage transactions to help those who need to sell and keep small business alive,”MrCollins said.
Simply deferring a payment doesnt make it more affordable and will only spread the cost over a longer period, whereas a short-term stamp duty concession or rebate of 75 per cent will make buying property much more attractive safeguarding thousands of jobs including, mortgage brokers,removalists, settlement agents and tradespeople.
There is a strong risk that transactions may drop significantly which will put thousands of people out of work. A short-term relief package will encourage people to continue buying and selling and keep small business going.
In addition, for those people who will need to sell their homes, they will need a buyer at the other end. Without this short-term incentive there may not be many buyers in the market, which could be a double blow to those who need to sell,”MrCollins said.
