BRUSSELS: Property taxes vary widely around the world, from 11.3 percent in Belgium to nothing in New Zealand.
The results of a new report published by the international accounting form UHY Haines Norton has shown that New Zealand levies the lowest rates in the world on the purchase of property, while Belgium levies the highest rate.
The report contains results of computations of the taxes because of local, state, or national governments when making a private purchase of a property worth USD 1 million.
Currently New Zealand does not charge any taxes on the purchase of property, followed only by Russia which charges a nominal tax, which would add up to just USD 30.35 on the purchase of the property.
Conversely, the average amount of tax to be paid in Belgium on the purchase of a property would amount to as much as USD 113 131.
Belgium’s tax burden was followed by Spain and Pakistan, where the tax burdens were 8 percent and 6 percent respectively, equivalent to a charge of USD 80 thousand and USD 60 thousand.
In the report it was claimed that while low tax on property purchases result in a loss of revenue for governments, they do allow for a high level of mobility in the labour force.
