Taiwan's property sales fall to 10-year low

April 23, 2012 | 07:53

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Property sales in Taiwan fell almost 40 percent in the first quarter of 2012 to a ten-year low, mainly due to a new "luxury tax" aimed at reining in speculators, the interior ministry said Saturday.

A general view shows a construction site in New Taipei City, Taiwan in 2011. Property sales in Taiwan fell almost 40 percent in the first quarter of 2012 to a ten-year low, mainly due to a new

About 64,000 properties were sold or purchased in the three months to March, the lowest level since 2002, down 38.9 percent from the same period last year.

Home sales have been in decline across the island, particularly in the capital Taipei, since the "luxury tax" was imposed in June 2011, the ministry said in a statement.

The special tax was introduced in an attempt to stem an increasing wealth gap between rich and poor.

Under the "luxury tax" bill, anyone who sells non-residential properties and vacant land within two years of their purchase faces a levy of up to 15 percent.

The bill also includes a 10 percent special sales tax on luxury goods such as yachts, private jets, furs and high-end furniture.

AFP

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