Legco filibuster on stamp duty puts more than HK$4b at stake, lawyers warn
Homebuyers' cash being held by lawyers while stamp duty bill is delayed in Legco
Billions of dollars paid in property transactions have been put at risk by a delay in passing a law that enacts a doubling of stamp duties, lawyers warn.
Conveyancing lawyers are holding the extra taxes they have collected from property buyers until the law is passed and the money is handed to the government, or returned to buyers if legislators veto the market-cooling measure.
But buyers would have to pay the levy again if law firms holding their money went bust or misappropriated the funds, the lawyers said. Deacons senior partner Lilian Chiang called the situation "very unsatisfactory".
"It has been worrying since the tax started to be collected in February 2013," she said.
"We don't know the exact amount being held by law firms, but it will not be a small figure. What will happen if the tax money goes missing or if some 'small' law firms are forced to close down? At the end, buyers are vulnerable."
Government figures show lawyers are holding on to HK$4.3 billion from 3,000 transactions as of February this year. They will hand the money to the Inland Revenue Department once the bill is passed.
Louis Chan Wing-kit, managing director of Centaline Property's residential department, estimated the sum could have risen to HK$10 billion by now.
