FOREIGN BUYERS SURCHARGE
792. Hon PETER COLLIER to
the minister representing the Treasurer:
I refer to the foreign buyer
exchange and the fact that Landgate and the Foreign Investment Review Board do
not collect data on the number of properties that will attract the foreign
buyers surcharge.
(1) On what basis did Treasury
arrive at the estimate that 1 000 properties will attract the surcharge?
(2) How did Treasury forecast the
total revenue for the foreign buyer surcharge?
Hon
STEPHEN DAWSON replied:
I thank the Leader of the Opposition
for some notice of the question. The Leader of the Opposition said in his
question, ''I refer to the foreign buyer exchange''; I think he
means surcharge.
Hon Peter Collier: Surcharge;
sorry. Yes.
Hon STEPHEN DAWSON: Okay. In light of that —
(1) The
Department of Treasury estimate was based on Foreign Investment Review Board
approvals data, which was adjusted in accordance with assumptions on foreign
investment in residential real estate used in the commonwealth government's
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics' report. It
was also informed through discussions with other state treasuries.
(2) This
information was applied to the transfer duty data for the same year to provide
an estimate of the portion and value of properties these transactions
represent. The rate of seven per cent was applied to this estimate to derive
estimated revenue from the surcharge.