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Hong Kong raises stamp duty on second home purchases to 15% — even for locals

Authorities have raised taxes twice in two years to combat price escalation

The Hong Kong skyline (credit: Getty Images)
The Hong Kong skyline (credit: Getty Images)

Hong Kong authorities will nearly double the stamp duty taxes on resident purchases of second homes in a bid to slow dramatic price growth, Mansion Global reported.

Starting Nov. 5, all buyers of second homes in Hong Kong will pay a 15 percent tax on individual and corporate purchases, Hong Kong’s chief executive Leung Chun-ying announced on Friday. The 15 percent tax already applied to all purchases by foreigners but will now also affect purchases by locals.

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The tax hike is the second in just three years. The stamp duty for resident buyers was previously raised to 8.5 percent from 4.25 percent in 2013.

But the increase did little to cool overheating in the market. Median home prices were up 8.9 percent in the nine months ending in September, according to government data cited by Mansion Global.

The additional tax hike is most likely to curtail investment that’s been pouring in from China, Cliff Tse of JLL told the publication. [Mansion Global] — Katherine Clarke