Stamps rise again
Stamp duty and land transfer receipts over the year to February were on the up again, and heading towards $8 billion.
That's still some way below the heady 2017 peaks of above $10 billion, but still a taxation bonanza nonetheless, with plenty more to come over the next few years.
With Sydney property prices up 20 per cent since slumping into the May 2019 election and up +27 per cent over March to date there will be a decent uplift from here, probably to record highs before the year is out.
There was plenty of social media annoyance about a Chinese-Australian buyer paying $20 million for a Bondi Beach penthouse with ocean views on Saturday, but Revenue NSW certainly won't mind collecting the $1.4 million in duties (not to mention the capital gains taxes that will be raised from the seller, as the property was previously rented out).
There have been many calls to scrap stamp duty over the years, but that'd leave a big hole in the state budget to fill.
