Tag Archives: Tax Matters

Protecting investors’ rights

Posted on 26 Aug 2009 | Comments Off on Protecting investors’ rights

FOR those who keep complaining non-stop about the Government’s failure to listen to their gripes, it must come as a surprise to find that a proposed change in the Income Tax Act on property sales gains has been scrapped, following public feedback.

As the ST editorial points out this morning, the odd feature about the whole exercise was asking the public feedback in the first place. No living person on earth would say “Tax me some more”.

What Finance Ministry was actually planning to with the proposed tax change was to make it clearer to individuals on the type of circumstances that they would not be taxed if they sell a property.

But it conceded that there was merit in the feedback given by respondents who pointed out that it might create ‘inadvertent uncertainty for Continue reading →

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Posted in Property Market / Real Estate, Tax Matters / Property Tax

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About the ‘right’ property behaviour tax

Posted on 25 Aug 2009 | Comments Off on About the ‘right’ property behaviour tax

THE odd feature of the Finance Ministry’s decision to not change the law on taxing gains made in individuals’ property deals was that the public was asked its comment. This was being truly consultative, but was the outcome ever in doubt? There would not be a living person on earth who would say, without a trace of irony: ‘Yes, tax me some more.’ Without prejudice to the merits or demerits of the case, opposition was a foregone conclusion. The ministry received 64 responses to its proposal to make unambiguous the definition of which transactions over how long a period of time are not subject to income tax. This had the effect of making more property deals taxable as additional personal income. All but four of those who made submissions were opposed. The surprise was that it was not 64-0. Straight off, professional speculators and dabblers alike would be delighted, as the taxability stand is up to the taxman’s interpretation of how ‘regular’ transactions had been. Tax law is better clear-cut than open to interpretation and court challenge.

The announcement last week came smack in the middle of a real estate revival, where prospective price volatility caused partly by speculative Continue reading →

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Posted in Tax Matters / Property Tax

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