NZ - Is it true? No transfer stamp duty

In researching New Zealand's electronic dealings regime I asked myself what about payment of stamp duty on the transfer of property. After a google search an investment property website had this to offer - its too good to be true

"Imagine I told you that there was a Western country where there was:"

• no capital gains tax


• no estate or death taxes


• no wealth tax


• no transfer tax or stamp duty


• unlimited deductibility of losses (paper or real) in one enterprise against profits in another


• no limit to the amount of mortgage interest you can deduct against income


• and generous depreciation rates based on purchase price

Transfer duties and capital gains tax are the two biggest hurdles preventing property freely turning over like stocks and bonds. One is a large ingoing impost. And the other is irrationally imposed differentiating between your private home and investment. And Australian governments are always looking for ways to screw you further. Also dont forget about the ludicrously high transfer registration fees we also cop. Australia is talking about ridding transfer stamp duty on commercial transactions but leaving it on residential. Australia, take a leaf out of New Zealand's tax regime.

New Zealand Inland Revenue website
Instruments executed after 20 May 1999 no longer attract conveyance duty or lease duty ("stamp duty") and do not need to be submitted to the Department for stamping.

Query the implication of NZ GST on property sales?

Take stamp duty out of the equation, a No Transfer Stamp Duty regime makes electronic dealings much simpler indeed.