Hong Kong luxury stamp duty rate raised to 6.5%, real estate sector requests implementation to be postponed.

A new Hong Kong government "Financial Budget" proposes to increase the stamp duty rate for luxury homes worth over 100 million HKD from 4.25% to 6.5%, which came into effect on February 26. The Hong Kong Real Estate Developers Association has submitted comments on the draft regulations, requesting the government to postpone the implementation date of the stamp duty increase to July 1. The Hong Kong Real Estate Developers Association hopes that by then, the situation in the Middle East will be more stable, and any transactions involving a single residential unit and an amount not exceeding 100 million HKD - even if there are other transactions involved (transactions involving other units in the same building, as well as transactions by the same buyer or other buyers acting in concert) will not be considered as part of a series of transactions, in order to avoid unexpected negative impacts on urban renewal. Some legislators are concerned about the impact of the tax increase on the market. Leung Chi Wa, Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong Treasury, emphasized that after the government announced the tax increase, there were still transactions for residential properties worth over 100 million HKD, and more time is needed to assess the impact, expressing confidence that the overall impact on the property market is low.