Queenslanders slugged $3.5 billion more than forecast in stamp duty

Queenslanders have been slugged $3.5 billion more than forecast in stamp duty, but the government says that windfall is being reinvested to make housing more affordable.

The state reaped $3.5 billion more than it had budgeted solely from transfer duty receipts in the past three years, with the fees comprising a third of the price of a new home, according to a Property Council of Australia report.

It found home buyers would spend almost a decade paying down housing taxes for a 30-year mortgage worth $730,000 on a house and land package in Brisbane.

But Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon rebuffed the analysis, saying buyers did not pay income tax on house purchases and the state had the lowest property taxes on the east coast.

Median house prices in Brisbane in May were $845,000, while apartment prices were $565,000 – up 42 per cent and 29 per cent respectively over the past three years.

An increase in land prices meant government revenue rose 29 per cent during that period, said the group’s executive director for Queensland, Jess Claire.

Scanlon said the extra tax collected was spent on infrastructure, including more affordable housing, and service delivery.

“We are spending way more than $3.5 billion on delivering infrastructure in state schools, hospitals, homes and roads,” she told reporters.