15 per cent stamp duty

To rein in the city's runaway housing prices, Hong Kong's Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah announced an additional 15 per cent stamp duty on non-permanent-resident and corporate buyers starting from October 27, 2012. The move prompted speculation over the effectiveness of taxation on the real estate market and criticisms that Hong Kong was turning away from its roots as a free market economy in favour of a more protectionist market environment.

POLITICS

Lawmakers slam CY's Beijing call for 'breaching confidentiality'

27 Mar 2013

The Civic Party's Ronny Tong Ka-wah said he had written to the Legislative Council's constitutional affairs panel: "The issue raised questions about the confidentiality principle and [the] "one...

6:02AM

CY Leung 'notified' Beijing before unveiling stamp duty

26 Mar 2013

It raised concerns that Leung could have breached the Executive Council's confidentiality rule and the principle of Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong, and that the information could have been...

7:22AM

12 comments

CY phoned Beijing to clear stamp duty policy

26 Mar 2013

The influence of mainland authorities on Hong Kong policy has been thrown under the spotlight by the exposure of a sensitive phone call, which Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has refused to...

5:53AM

3 comments

Expats dazed and confused by stamp duty

20 Mar 2013

New stamp duties rolled out over the last few months to try and cool the property market have been a big blow for expatriates in Hong Kong - and a matter of some confusion.

5:22AM

Hotel scheme holds high risks for buyers who saved on stamp duty

22 Feb 2013

Buyers of units in the Apex Horizon hotel may risk financial burdens despite avoiding stamp duties by making the controversial purchase, property experts warn. This week property giant Cheung Kong...

4:24AM

2 comments

Probe launched on sales in Apex hotel over stamp duty

19 Feb 2013

The Lands Departments is investigating whether property giant Cheung Kong has violated land lease regulations by selling units at a suite hotel.

Buyers do not have to pay stamp duties when...

8:47AM

Opinion

Tom Holland

Attempts to diversify China's reserves have been a disaster

4:45AM

Howard Winn

China is like the EU; provinces are its member states

5:26AM

Stamp duty keeping non-locals out of property market

While observers believe it is too early to say for sure if the cooling effect was short-lived, they argue that locals buying through firms should be exempted from the tax, as figures show few...

8:48AM

4 comments

Solicitors, commerce chamber seeks exemptions to proposed stamp duty

Solicitors and a foreign business chamber have expressed concern about a planned 15 per cent stamp duty on non-local and corporate property buyers, while another chamber has endorsed it.

3:50AM

No holiday for property agents as flats snapped up

Sun Hung Kai Properties, which launched Residence 88 in Yuen Long on Wednesday, said the project attracted a keen response. The developer expected about 100 flats to be sold by the end of the...

5:05AM

PROPERTY

Hong Kong home sales spike as locals jump in to buy

Home sales rebounded sharply last month, driven by local buyers unaffected by the government's new stamp duty provisions targeting overseas and corporate investors.

7:31AM

PROPERTY

Fears of more intervention as home sales rebound

Sales and prices have improved despite a decline in demand from mainland and corporate buyers, whose purchases have slowed since the authorities introduced taxes aimed at non-local and corporate...

4:16AM

PROPERTY

Call to leave local-owned companies out of 15pc tax

Developers have made a counter-proposal to the government over a new property tax, suggesting that small companies with no more than five shareholders - who must all be locals - should be exempted...

4:09AM

2 comments