Stamp Duty, Land Tax, Foreign Buyer Surcharge and other charges
In our 13-point plan submitted to the State Government, we outlined actions the government could take that would deliver immediate financial relief to the property industry. These included the urgent need to consider initiatives to waive or defer land tax, to provide relief to tenants and some landlords. We continue to advocate for relief on taxes and fees and charges.
We have asked the State Government to suspend the Foreign Buyer Surcharge on WA apartment sales during the crisis as this could generate some much-needed activity in the local apartment market. We continue to advocate for the 75 per cent stamp duty rebate that applied to off-the-plan apartment sales to be extended to all new apartments.
In our discussions with the Planning Minister, we have provided feedback received from members around Developer Contributions and a possible deferral in collection of these fees until projects are finished. This is to assist businesses in maintaining cash flow that will allow them to proceed with projects and keep Western Australians employed.
Other conversations with the Planning Minister have included freezing and deferring Development Application and Building Permit fees. In its $1 billion economic and health relief package, the State Government flagged that statutory planning and building services fees would be waived for small and medium businesses. We are continuing to engage with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage to determine exactly what those fees are and when those fee waivers will come into effect.