Why mainland Chinese still drive Hong Kong’s housing market despite Beijing’s 20% tax
Although the Chinese government imposed a 20 per cent tax on rental income and capital gains derived from overseas properties transferred into offshore trusts by mainland residents, agents said these investors remained a key driver of the Hong Kong property market. China’s Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation Administration said in July that rental earnings – profits from the sale of…
The Hong Kong property market remains a significant driver for mainland Chinese investors, despite Beijing's imposition of a 20% tax on rental income and capital gains from overseas properties transferred into offshore trusts. According to Kit Lam, senior associate director at Ricacorp Properties, mainland Chinese buyers continue to account for about 15 to 20% of transactions for smaller, entry-level properties in the New Territories.
These purchases are primarily for personal use, such as facilitating their children's education in Hong Kong, and the group of end users is the least affected by the tax regulations. The overall volume of residential property transactions in Hong Kong dropped by 47.5% following the tax announcement, but a rebound in September shows that the market has absorbed the impact to some extent.
Brief written by urgent.news from SCMP Business's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
