• Home
  • News
    • People moves
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Canada
    • Caribbean
    • Domicile
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • North America
    • Middle East
    • US
    • US
    • UK
  • Products
    • Funds
    • Pensions
    • Platforms
    • Insurance
    • Investments
    • Private Banking
    • Citizenship
    • Taxation
  • Fintech
  • Regulation
  • ESG
  • Expats
  • In Depth
  • Special Reports
  • Directory
  • Video
  • Advertise with us
  • Directory
  • Events
  • European Fund Selector
  • Newsletters
  • Follow us
    • Twitter
    • LinkedIn
    • Newsletters
  • Advertise with us
  • Directory
  • Events
    • Upcoming events
      event logo
      International Investment Nordic Forum 2021

      International Investment is delighted to announce the 2021 International Investment Nordic Forum which will take place on Tuesday March 9, at 9am (GMT). This curated virtual event will be broadcast live and will feature a series of fund manager interviews and presentations, as well as interviews with some of the Nordic regions top fund selectors.

      • Date: 09 Mar 2021
      • ONLINE, ONLINE
      View all events
  • European Fund Selector
International Investment
International Investment

Sponsored by

Sharing Alpha
  • Home
  • News
  • Products
  • Fintech
  • Regulation
  • ESG
  • Expats
  • In Depth
  • Special Reports
  • Video
  • Taxation

Australia unveils new tax on foreign owners of residential properties

Australia unveils new tax on foreign owners of residential properties
  • Helen Burggraf
  • 16 May 2017
  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  

Australia is introducing a new tax on foreign owners of “under-utilised residential property”, as part of an effort to ensure that more homes are available to the marketplace. 

In a statement, the Australian Tax Office said it was focusing on those properties owned by foreigners which were “not occupied or genuinely available on the rental market for at least six months per year”.

Related articles

  • Another Aussie state unveils tax on foreign homebuyers
  • New Zealand raising bar to foreign property owners, with tax on gains
  • Report: More non-Australian workers eyeing Australia
  • Now Australia plans to raise the bar for acquiring citizenship

“The charge will be levied annually, and will be equivalent to the relevant foreign investment application fee imposed on the property at the time it was acquired by the foreign investor,” the ATO added. This would mean a charge of at least A$5,000 (US$3,700, £2,900).

“This measure is intended to encourage foreign owners of residential property to make their properties available for rent where they are not used as a residence, and so increase the number of dwellings available for Australians to live in.”

It said the measure will only apply to those “foreign persons” who make a foreign investment application for residential property from 7:30pm on 9 May (last Tuesday).

Some unoccupied homes are likely to be double-taxed as a result, for example under the unoccupied property measures imposed by the state of Victoria, according to published reports.

The new tax is being brought in alongside a number of other measures in the latest budget aimed at cooling Australia’s over-heated property market, which is putting pressure on the country’s government. Other measures include an end to an exemption from capital gains tax for foreign and temporary tax residents who sell their main residence in Australia. (Existing properties will be grandfathered until 30 June 2019.)

The withholding rate on capital gains tax that foreigners must settle when they sell property will increase to 12.5% from 10% beginning on 1 July. Currently, the withholding tax is only taken when a foreigner sells a property worth $2m or more.

However, going forward, in an effort to raise more revenue and cool the market, it will now apply to the sale of properties worth A$750,000 or more, according to  Your Investment Property magazine.

The news that Australia is looking to claw more tax out of foreign investors in its residential properties comes less than a month after Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull unveiled – on his personal Facebook page – plans to abolish Australia’s so-called “457 skilled visa programme” and replace it with a temporary visa with new requirements for temporary foreign workers; and then, a few days later, announced plans to make the country’s citizenship test harder to pass.

  • Tweet  
  • Facebook  
  • LinkedIn  
  • Send to  
  • Topics
  • Taxation
  • Australia
  • Property
  • Tax

More on Taxation

Report proposes 5% UK wealth tax to offset pandemic costs

  • Taxation
  • 09 December 2020
Britons in France warned of steep capital gains tax rises when selling property

  • Taxation
  • 07 December 2020
HMRC payments to tax evasion whistleblowers up 63%

  • Taxation
  • 04 December 2020
OECD to issue international crypto tax evasion standards next year

  • Cryptocurrencies
  • 04 December 2020
Global tax evasion costs $427bn per year

  • Taxation
  • 04 December 2020
Back to Top

Most read

More than 250,000 expats left Saudi Arabia in 3Q2020
More than 250,000 expats left Saudi Arabia in 3Q2020
FSCS warns industry of £1bn compensation bill
FSCS warns industry of £1bn compensation bill
Dubai regulator to develop cryptocurrency framework
Dubai regulator to develop cryptocurrency framework
Jersey Finance partners with Durrell trust to launch global rewilding fund
Jersey Finance partners with Durrell trust to launch global rewilding fund
Aegon UK partners HSBC Global AM to embed ESG across in-house default funds
Aegon UK partners HSBC Global AM to embed ESG across in-house default funds
  • Contact Us
  • Marketing solutions
  • About Incisive Media
  • Terms and conditions
  • Policies
  • Careers
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Newsletters

© Incisive Business Media (IP) Limited, Published by Incisive Business Media Limited, New London House, 172 Drury Lane, London WC2B 5QR, registered in England and Wales with company registration numbers 09177174 & 09178013

Digital publisher of the year
Digital publisher of the year 2010, 2013, 2016 & 2017
Loading