Taxes on non-resident housing in Taipei are set to double, according to a bill passed yesterday by the Taipei City Council’s Laws and Regulations Committee.
Rates are set to rise from 1.2 percent to 2.4 percent for the first two non-residential housing units and 3.6 percent thereafter, the Taipei City Revenue Service said.
According to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Taipei has the most expensive housing of any city in the world relative to income, with housing prices rising 91.6 percent between 2008 and this year.
“There have been concerns that low property taxes have encouraged people to invest in real estate to take advantage of the market’s high profits,” Revenue Service head Huang Su-jin (黃素津) said. “Despite the expensive nature of Taipei’s housing market, some people still own large amounts of property.”
She said the changes to the law will keep people from “hoarding” housing, adding that if people feel they cannot afford the tax, they can always choose to sell off excess property.
National law presently allows homeowners to claim up to three separate principal residences, all of which are subject to a 1.2 percent property tax. Any property owned in addition to the principal residences is considered non-residence housing for which localities are allowed to set higher tax rates.
The new tax rate would apply to all Taipei housing that is not registered as a principal residence, the revenue service said.
Huang said the law is expected to take effect before property taxes are due in May next year. About 2 percent of city homeowners would affected, she said.
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