ORANGE paid the highest amount of stamp duty of any inland city in the state in the year to October, with the number of properties sold making the bill comparable to elite Sydney suburbs.
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According to research from the Real Estate Institute of NSW, Orange cleared 1196 houses and 118 units during the year, with a combined stamp duty charge of $16.8 million into state government coffers.
Ranked 49th in the state, Orange narrowly followed Sydney suburbs Bronte ($16.82 million) and Neutral Bay ($17.1 million), and outstripped Surry Hills ($16.79 million) and North Bondi ($16.7 million).
The only other non-Sydney suburb was Port Marquarie, with $26.3 million paid.
Across the region, Kelso had the next-highest stamp duty bill ($3.9 million), followed by Bathurst ($3 million) and Cowra ($2.1 million).
Institute chief executive officer Tim McKibbin said the statistics were particularly concerning for Sydney buyers, who faced stamp duty bills of up to $227,000 – Orange buyers, by comparison, paid $13,265 on average for a house and $7940 for a unit.
“If people can find comparable employment in Orange and they’re able to purchase a home, that would be very attractive,” he said.
“But that really isn’t addressing the heart of the problem – it’s a symptomatic solution.”
Mr McKibbin said the way stamp duty was calculated was outdated – according to the institute, indexing the tax would have cut Orange’s bill to $9.4 million.
He said those who bought no property escaped paying state taxes altogether.
“We need to find a more equitable way of putting a roof over our heads – this is one of life’s necessities.”
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