Tax exemption for young homebuyers demanded
politics
A new model should make it easier for young people to get their own apartment. That’s what housing councilor Andrea Klambauer from NEOS says. She demands that this group should not pay real estate transfer tax when buying an apartment up to 400,000 euros.
Anyone who buys an apartment for up to 400,000 euros, lives in it themselves and is not older than 35 should not pay any real estate transfer tax for the purchase, says housing councilor Andrea Klambauer. Persistently high real estate prices, the current high level of inflation and, in addition, stricter regulations for lending would make it increasingly difficult for young people to buy an apartment and thus be able to live in their own four walls, emphasizes Klambauer.
Registration fee too high
According to Klambauer, there has been such an exemption model in the Netherlands since the beginning of last year. At a price of 400,000 euros for the property, the buyer would still save 14,000 euros if he or she did not have to pay real estate transfer tax for it. And with average earnings, that’s seven months’ salary, the housing councilor calculates.
When buying a property, fees would be incurred in an amount that would be in reasonable proportion to the state’s performance, criticizes Klambauer. If, for example, the land register fees were based on the actual costs of administration and not on a fixed percentage of the property value, then homebuyers across Austria could save one billion euros a year, and at least one hurdle in the purchase of living space would be removed, emphasizes Klambauer.