The Macau Metro Monitor, December 8, 2011
SINGAPORE PROPERTY SHARES PLUNGE ON GOV'T COOLING MOVE Reuters
Effective today, buyers who are not Singapore citizens or permanent residents will have to pay an additional 10% stamp duty when they buy a home, on top of the existing 1-3% in stamp duties. Permanent residents who already own a Singapore home are now required to pay an additional stamp duty of 3% when they buy second and subsequent properties. Citizens who purchase a third and subsequent homes will pay 3%. "We have always had open markets and must keep them that way. However, the reality is that investment flows into our property market are now larger than before, and unlikely to recede as long as interest rates remain low," said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam. "The additional buyer's stamp duty should help cool investment demand, and avoid the prospect of a major, destabilising correction further down the road," he added.