Comments by the Secretary of the Treasury, Dr Martin Parkinson, on abolishing state-based real estate stamp duties have been welcomed by the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).
Dr Parkinson found stamp duties to have the biggest drag on productivity and also a tax that inhibits economic adjustment.
REIA acting president Pamela Bennett says the REIA has advocated for a long time the reform of state property taxes.
"State based stamp duties are inequitable, inefficient and an unstable source of revenue for state governments," Bennett says.
"Stamp duties represent additional costs to property transactions, discouraging turnover of housing and distorting choices between renting and buying and between moving house and renovating."
Bennett says abolishing stamp duties would improve mobility as well as improve social and economic development.
"The abolition of all state stamp duties and replacement with more efficient taxes will improve household consumption, a measure of economic wellbeing, by around two per cent.
"The REIA will be taking this position to the Tax Forum in October and will be seeking a commitment from the State and Commonwealth Governments to take an agreed and coordinated approach to an agenda for reform."
