The Federal Government has flagged fees of at least $5,000 for foreign buyers of Australian residential real estate.
At a press conference in Sydney, the Prime Minister and Treasurer announced a raft of changes to laws that govern the ability of foreign buyers - temporary residents and non-residents - to purchase Australian residential property.
Unveiling the key contents of a consultation paper, Treasurer Joe Hockey said the proposed measures were designed to restore confidence in a foreign investment review system that had not prosecuted anyone for breaching the rules since 2006.
"For any foreign investor that wants to buy a residential property under $1 million, there will be a $5,000 application fee," he said.
"Over $1 million, it will be $10,000 for every extra million dollars in the purchase price.
"Secondly, there will be a new register set up so that we know how many foreign residential and agricultural property owners are in Australia, who they are, which is a very important form of reassurance to the Australian people.
"And, if anyone does break the law then we can fine them up to 25 per cent of the value of the property as well as forcing them to sell the property."
The fees outlined by the Government are much higher than those recommended in a report by the House of Representatives Economics Committee, which suggested an administrative charge of up to $1,500, with the money raised to fund the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
The Treasurer also said that businesses applying for FIRB approval to buyout Australian companies worth more than $1 billion would face an application fee of $100,000, while other applications to buy businesses would attract a $25,000 fee.
Tax Office best placed to handle real estate enforcement
Mr Hockey said the new fees would be collected by Treasury and would be included the forthcoming budget's forward estimates.
"The proposed fees will raise in excess of $200 million a year, but obviously that depends on demand," Mr Hockey said.
"At the moment we simply do not have enough data and that's because no-one has taken foreign investment regimes seriously in the past."
When asked whether the proposed fees were "just a way to milk foreign investors", Mr Hockey replied they were currently being subsidised by the taxpayer because of the lack of application fees.
"At the moment they don't pay anything when they lodge applications, they get a free service from the Australian taxpayer. That is unacceptable and obviously transactions now are far more complicated."
The proposed changes would also see the FIRB's real estate enforcement activities shifted to a new specialist unit within the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
The discussion paper said the ATO seemed the most suitable agency to perform the task as it had staff with appropriate compliance and enforcement skills, sophisticated data-matching systems and experience pursuing court action.
The ATO would be enforcing a civil penalty system with a range of fines for those breaching the rules, from $2,040 for those inadvertently failing to seek approval for a purchase who voluntarily turn themselves in, through to 10 per cent of the value of the property for deliberately failing to seek approval.
For those who purchase properties they are not allowed to, the penalty would be up to 25 per cent of the property's value and a forced sale.
The Government also proposed a fine of up to $42,500 for individuals who help a foreign buyer breach the rules, which could catch out people such as real estate agents, conveyancers and local family members who assist unlawful purchases.
Submissions on the proposals are being accepted by Treasury until March 20, after which the Government will make a final decision about which to enact.
中國人會為了區區數萬元而不購入房產嗎？以香港及台灣經驗，收費越多只會繼續推高樓市，如果要保障樓市不致過高，要麼增大供應，發展幾個主要城市外的衛星城市，吸引年青人來澳補充正在老化的年齡斷層，Australia有的是土地，用土地吸引年青人來澳發展新的支柱經濟，去取代資源為主的舊澳洲經濟模式，才是王道。
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感觉这是对海外资金入场的认可。
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絕對是歡迎海外資金的前奏。
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政府收了钱再说
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关键在于怎么罚钱，这次罚得数字够多了，问题是怎么查？
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假如每个竞拍者交1W，10个同时竞拍1个就有10W啊，最后只有一个能赢，大家会不会为了1W块钱再溢价竞争？
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让ato把所有银行有海外收入贷款的case都过一遍，发信让每个settle人都提供pr或国籍证明，没回答的就可以查了。
效率高吧。
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这个方法真心有效率。
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目前只有房地产能提振经济，政府真的会打压吗？做做样子回头骗点选票而已。
看目前的政策，政府应该是明压暗保。
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又或者提供举报渠道，像查黑民一样
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这个方法的效率还高在，如果你不提供pr或国籍证明，查房产直接拍卖。如果你提供了pr或国籍证明，直接让补缴个人所得税。无论怎么样都能cover查证的headcost,国库马上就充盈了。
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For those who purchase properties they are not allowed to, the penalty would be up to 25 per cent of the property's value and a forced sale.
老大,这条呢?明显政府想发一笔财,养肥了一刀砍了
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看看这个，然后再说是不是太轻：
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如果不做澳洲按揭那就花時間了。
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说一下香港经验。
香港汇率紧盯美金，多年以来存款利率接近0%，没有降息这招可使。
因内地资金涌入，推高香港楼价，民众怨声载道，香港政府2012年10月推出的针对非香港永久居民征收15%的印花税，两年内卖出再收15%的印花税，俗称“双辣招”。
2013年2月再次“加辣”，买家印花税（对非香港永居者和公司征收）扩大至非居住物业，另外普通印花税全面增加，最高税率由4.5%加到8.5%。
2013年，楼价止升，有些地方（以及豪宅）有跌，跌幅也就10%以内，新楼盘上市少了一些；
2014年，政策完全消化后，楼价又开始普涨，2014年涨了20%左右，保守估计。
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罚买家不如罚卖家，就好像抓吸毒的不如抓贩毒的。。。。哦不对，澳洲对毒贩可好了。。。
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要實行有效措施，必先要知道減低作為投資的資金運用，壓低第二次置業的融資已經可減少價格不斷攀升，然而也要加重第二置業的成本及限制，才可趕絕投資炒高價格。
歐洲很多國家把房地產作為民生議題，亞寶把房地產當作生財工具，早晚要有下台的準備。
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