Australia
The federal government of Australia does not levy stamp duty. However, stamp duties are levied by the Australian states on various instruments (written documents) and transactions. The rates of stamp duty vary from state to state, as do the nature of the instruments or transactions subject to duty. Some jurisdictions no longer require a physical document to attract what is now often referred to as "transaction duty".
Major forms of duty include the transfer duty on the sale of land, businesses, shares and other forms of dutiable property; mortgage duty; lease duty and duty on the hire of goods. Rebates or exemptions are available from transfer duty and mortgage duty for those purchasing their first home.
On 20 April 2005, the treasurers of various states and territories announced that they would phase out a number of duties over the following five years. However, duty on land ownership transfers would remain.
Read more about this topic: Stamp Duty
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