A survey commissioned by the Property Council of Australia shows Australians consider a GST to be fairer than stamp duty.
Nine out of ten Australians surveyed about tax reform support changing the current system, with a majority wanting stamp duty to be abolished and strong support for increasing GST to retire stamp duty. The Newgate Research Community report, commissioned by the Property Council of Australia, found that stamp duty is considered to be the most unfair tax.
The research found Australians believe that stamp duty is driving up home prices and making it unaffordable for young people to own their own home, with 70 percent of those surveyed supporting the abolition of stamp duty.
The research also revealed that housing affordability ranked as a key concern with 86 percent of those surveyed claiming they were concerned about housing affordability to some degree with nearly two thirds (63%) either “extremely concerned” or “very concerned” about it and even more (70%) believe it is “extremely” or “very important” for the government to take action on this issue.
“Our research shows that Australians would support an increase in the rate of GST in return for doing away with other unfair, punitive taxes like stamp duty," said Property Council Chief Executive Ken Morrison. "Governments know stamp duty distorts the economy, hurts housing affordability and is a rollercoaster source of revenue."