澳大利亞維多利亞州上調外國人購房稅率

The Australian state of Victoria said on Wednesday it was more than doubling taxes on foreign Property buyers in a move reflecting growing public concern over the volume of Chinese money flowing into the local real estate market.

澳大利亞維多利亞州週三表示，將把對外國購房者徵收的稅提高一倍以上。此舉反映出，流入當地房地產市場的中國資金的規模引起了澳大利亞民衆越來越大的擔憂。

The move to increase stamp duty surcharges for foreigners to 7 per cent from July 1, up from 3 per cent, comes as New Zealand considers a land tax on foreigners.

維多利亞州決定，從今年7月1日起，外國人購房需繳納的額外印花稅的稅率將從3%提高到7%。與此同時，新西蘭也在考慮對外國購房者徵收土地稅。

Australia approved $24bn in Chinese property investments in 2014-15, double the previous year’s figure. Australian property prices, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, have experienced a four-year boom that is focusing political attention on housing affordability.

2014-15年度，澳大利亞批准了240億美元的中資房地產投資，金額比上一年翻了一番。澳大利亞房價——尤其是悉尼和墨爾本的房價——已連續四年暴漲，令住房可負擔性成爲政治關注的焦點。

The opposition Labor party is promising to cut tax breaks for buy-to-let investors ahead of a July 2 election, while Victoria’s stamp duty increase for foreign buyers comes just a year after it introduced the tax for the first time.

澳大利亞反對黨工黨(Labor party)正承諾爭取在7月2日大選前削減對購房出租者的稅額減免，維多利亞州則在去年首次推出針對外國購房者的印花稅後僅過了一年就上調了該稅率。

“Doubling the tax within a year makes foreign buyers feel very unwelcome,” said Esther Yong, director of ACproperty, a Chinese-language property portal.

中文地產門戶網站“澳洲家園網”(ACproperty)主管Esther Yong表示：“一年不到就將稅率上調了一倍，令外國購房者感到自己非常不受歡迎。”

There are already signs that tighter scrutiny of foreign transactions, restrictions on bank lending to foreigners and the stamp duty tax in Victoria are beginning to temper overseas demand for property.

已經有跡象顯示，收緊對外國人購房的審查、限制銀行向外國人放貸以及維多利亞州徵收的印花稅，正開始抑制外國人對澳大利亞房地產的需求。

National Australia Bank’s latest Residential Property Survey shows the number of foreign buyers as a proportion of overall transactions fell to 11.8 per cent in the three months to end March, from 14.4 per cent three months earlier — its lowest level in 2.5 years.

澳大利亞國民銀行(National Australia Bank)的最新《住宅地產調查》報告(Residential Property Survey)顯示，今年一季度，外國人購房在所有房產交易中的佔比降至11.8%，爲兩年半來的最低水平，上一季度的佔比爲14.4%。

Alan Oster, NAB’s chief economist, said the reduced foreign demand probably reflected oversupply, particularly in the Melbourne market where up to 30 per cent of city centre apartments were unoccupied.

澳大利亞國民銀行首席經濟學家歐思濂(Alan Oster)表示，外國需求減少很可能反映的是供應過剩，尤其是在墨爾本市場——墨爾本市中心公寓空置率高達30%。

“For many Chinese buyers buying a property in Australia is not about yield, it is about getting their money offshore,” he said.

他說：“許多中國買家在澳買房不是爲了收益，而是爲了把錢轉到海外。”

He said the inflow of foreign money was a short-term boon for the economy but could become a risk if Chinese buyers suddenly wanted to withdraw.

他表示，短期而言外資流入對澳大利亞經濟是個利好，但如果中國買家突然想撤資，就可能變成一個風險。

The Reserve Bank of Australia echoed these sentiments in its latest report on financial stability.

澳大利亞央行(RBA)在其最新金融穩定性報告中呼應了這種觀點。

“A substantial reduction in Chinese demand would likely weigh most heavily on the apartment markets of inner-city Melbourne and parts of Sydney, not only because Chinese buyers are particularly prevalent in these segments but also because other factors would reinforce any initial fall in prices,” said the RBA.

它表示：“受中國需求大幅減少影響最嚴重的，很可能會是墨爾本內城和悉尼部分地區的公寓市場，這不僅是因爲涉足這塊市場的中國買家特別多，還因爲價格一旦開始下跌其他因素會使跌勢變得更猛。”