Hawke's Bay Property Investors' Association

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12-05-2016

No land tax reasonable

"It is good to finally have some actual numbers around foreign buyers of New Zealand property" says NZ Property Investors Federation Executive Officer, Andrew King, "even if they may not be exact".

The data released by Land Information New Zealand shows that 3.96% of houses sold between January and March went to non-residents.

While the figure isn't exact, based on these figures, Government has indicated that they will not be looking to introduce a land tax on foreign buyers.

The NZPIF is neither pleased nor concerned that a land tax on foreign buyers is unlikely to be introduced.

"Foreign buyers are not just competitors to first home buyers, they compete against rental property providers as well" says King. "In that regard many rental property providers would probably welcome a land tax on foreign buyers. But taxes shouldn't be used this way".

Although the figures do not indicate a problem now, this may not be the case in the future. The NZPIF believes that the information Government is now able to collect on foreign buyers is a good as it allows the situation to be monitored over time. Only if there is an identified problem should Government look to act.

Tags: foreign buyers