Give stamp duty exemption to private sellers, says housing group

Posted on

FREE MALAYSIA TODAY. 7th OCTOBER: A house buyers’ association has taken issue with a budget incentive of 75% stamp duty exemption on property sales, saying it should be extended also to sellers of private homes.

Chang Kim Loong, secretary-general of the National House Buyers’ Association, said he disagreed with the stamp duty exemption as it would benefit only developers and niche market buyers.

“If there’s a waiver, don’t be developer centric, consider the subsale market as well,” he said. (Subsale refers to the sale of private homes on the secondary market.)

He said the budget announcement of the stamp duty exemption would result in lower government revenue, which would lead to government expenditure being paid from other tax sources.

He said the exemption amounted to “privatising profits and socialising losses”.

Chang said taxpayers should not be subsidising developers when people buy houses. Developers should be giving more discounts in order to sell properties faster, instead of the government forgoing the stamp duty.

On the RM3 billion allocation for the housing credit guarantee scheme for gig workers, Chang welcomed the announcement as he said it was one of the ways to help those in the informal sector get their first homes.

“The gig economy has been a lifesaver to many of the rakyat who lost their jobs and resorted to become ride hailing drivers, food delivery riders and other forms of freelance work,” he said.

Chang added that gig economy workers should not be denied financing to purchase a property.

However, he hopes that this financing scheme will be limited to first-time house buyers purchasing affordable properties, or if they purchase from the subsale market.

“It should not be restricted to primary properties directly from the developers,” he said.