The State Opposition’s move to block a government bill designed to reinforce housing supply in NSW has been described as “short sighted politics” and could signal the party’s lack of seriousness about improving housing affordability in the state, according to the Property Council of Australia.
“The legislation currently before State Parliament is designed to ensure well known Australian based companies are able to provide homes for Australian families like they have always done,” said Jane Fitzgerald, NSW executive director for the Property Council of Australia.
“The legislation fixes a technical problem with the laws introduced by the State Government – and supported by the State Opposition – in June this year. The only reason for the backflip by the State Opposition between then and now is pure politics – politics that will ultimately jeopardise Sydney getting the homes it needs.”
According to the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC), NSW needs at least 725,000 new homes by 2036 to house a growing population.
“These laws will ensure that there is a level playing field for those housing suppliers wanting to build homes for Australian families,” Fitzgerald added. “Around 15 to 20 per cent of the housing market in NSW is foreign funded or supplied and some of those ‘foreign owned’ companies have been Australian based for decades.”
The June legislation was introduced to circumvent the foreign buyer taxes introduced in the 2016 budget, which targeted home suppliers as well as the end purchasers of real estate.
“Labor governments in both Victoria and Queensland have exempted housing suppliers from their foreign buyer tax regimes so it’s bizarre that NSW Labor is seeking to oppose this change especially as they supported the related legislation in June,” Fitzgerald said.
Should the legislation fail to pass, the risk to housing supply in NSW is clear: Developments may not proceed due to the additional 4% stamp duty and potential for increased land tax liability if the developer holds land for more than one year. Meanwhile, developments that did not proceed would see the additional taxes passed on to the end buyer, which would further strain the affordability of residential real estate.
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