Government insists that stamp duties are working

Claims it’s stabilising the property market.

Hong Kong's Secretary for Transport & Housing Prof Anthony Cheung said the special stamp duty and buyer's stamp duty will help facilitate the healthy and stable development of the property market.

He noted that both measures were introduced to further curb speculation and manage demand amidst tight land supply and high demand in the residential property market.

Cheung said the measures will help reduce the risk of a property bubble, and maintain the stability of the macro-economy as well as the financial system, which are of vital importance to the overall business environment.

“We believe the enhancement of the special stamp duty regime will increase the cost of speculation and thus a significant portion of such transactions would disappear following the announcement, especially short-term resale cases," he said.

Cheung said that in the past few months, the government has been taking heed of different views of the community on the property market, including those from experts, academics, think tanks and the trade.

"In formulating the proposals, we have also fully taken into account the general calls from the public for further measures to combat speculative activities, cool down the exuberant property market, and ensure that housing demand from Hong Kong Permanent Resident-buyers be accorded priority."

He believes the buyer's stamp duty should be effective in reducing demand from non-permanent resident buyers, thereby according priority to meeting the housing needs of permanent residents under the current tight demand/supply balance in the housing market.