Queenslanders have been slugged $3.5 billion more than forecast in stamp duty but the government say that windfall is being reinvested to make housing more affordable.
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The state reaped $3.5 billion more than it had budgeted solely from transfer duty receipts in the past three years, with the fees making up a third of the price of a new home, according to a Property Council of Australia report.
It found homebuyers would spend almost a decade paying down housing taxes for a 30-year mortgage worth $730,000 on a house and land package in Brisbane.
Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon rebuffed the analysis, saying buyers did not pay income tax on house purchases and the state had the lowest property taxes on the east coast.
Median house prices in Brisbane in May were $845,000 while apartment prices were $565,000, marking a respective 42 per cent and 29 per cent rise in the past three years.
The increase in land prices meant government revenue rose 29 per cent during the period, the group's executive director for Queensland Jess Claire said.
Ms Scanlon said the extra tax collected was spent on infrastructure, including more affordable housing, and service delivery.
"We are spending way more than $3.5 billion on delivering infrastructure in the state schools, hospitals, homes and roads," she told reporters on Saturday.
But the housing lobby group called on the government to reduce the taxes to restore housing affordability.
"Taxing the property industry in a housing crisis is akin to taxing water in a drought," Ms Claire said.
It also urged the money to be spent infrastructure to support home building, saying the Brisbane apartment pipeline was set to dry up with no new projects expected after 2025.
"If we were to ever put a roof over every Queenslander's head, we need to review our prohibitive tax settings that not only drive up the cost of houses, they also drive out the critical investment," Ms Claire said.
The report made several recommendations including reviewing housing tax concessions, increasing the cut-off for first homebuyer concessions, which sits at $500,000 and quarantining tax windfalls into a transparent fund so voters can see how much money is raised and where it is spent.
The minister said the government was already investing billions of dollars in home building and incentives but refused to delve into any additional measures before June's state budget.
"The treasurer is absolutely focused on making sure we provide more relief to the households and we'll certainly look at ways that we can help families get into home ownership," she said.
Australian Associated Press
