Stamp duty
The duty is thought to have originated in Venice in 1604, being introduced (or re-invented) in Spain in the 1610s, the Spanish Netherlands in the 1620s, France in 1651, and England in 1694.
However, stamp duties are levied by the Australian states on various instruments (written documents) and transactions.
Stamp duties on land registration were renamed and transferred to a separate statute but remain essentially the same, i.e. 0.6% on deeds and 1.5% loans secured against real estate.
Stamp duty on a conveyance on sale of land is charged at progressive rates ranging from 1.5% to 8.5% of the amount of consideration.
The government regularly updates its Stamp Duty laws and in addition to the above, several other amendments have now been published which are also aimed at cooling the property market.
Hong Kong Government, through the Inland Revenue Department, also provides e-stamping with the same legal status as conventional stamp.
[4] Indian laws require stamp duty payments on a limited category of transaction documents.
Broadly, documents affecting rights and titles to property require stamp duties to be paid.
[5] In addition, stamp duty may be charged by the state government for other transactions depending on state-specific legislation.
Indonesian government, through Ministry of Finance, also launched electronic stamp duty (e-meterai) on October 1, 2021.
[10] From 1998, stamp duty in Singapore only applies to documents relating to immovable property, stocks and shares.
"Stamp Duty Reserve Tax" (SDRT) was introduced on agreements to transfer certain shares and other securities in 1986, albeit with a relief for intermediaries such as market makers and large banks that are members of a qualifying exchange.
SDLT is not a stamp duty, but a form of self-assessed transfer tax charged on "land transactions".
On 24 March 2010, Chancellor Alistair Darling introduced two significant changes to UK Stamp Duty Land Tax.
For first-time buyers purchasing a property under £250,000, Stamp Duty Land Tax was abolished for the next two years.
This measure was offset by a rise from 4% to 5% in Stamp Duty Land Tax on residential properties costing more than £1 million.
[15] Further reforms were announced in December 2014, so that rates are now paid only on the part of the property price within each tax band.
In addition, many states impose a tax on mortgages or other instruments securing loans against real property.
