The Phuket Land Office collected THB1.3 billion (US$43.8 million) in land tax from October 2009 to September 2010, said head of the office Paitoon Lartkai.
“On average, we earn about four million baht a day.” he added.
The tax collected this year was THB430 million (US$14.3 million) over that of last year which totaled THB871 million (US$29.1 million). This represent an impressive 49% increase.
But does it really mean that the real estate market is getting better?
Of course, the number of transactions increased slightly compared with the precedent year (when it had fallen close to zero).
30,812 people registered land ownership and legal transactions, and the Phuket Land Office approved 12 housing projects with 1,000 units and 7 condominium projects with over 800 rooms in fiscal year 2010.
But if we go deeper than the surface, things are not so bright.
On one hand, the Land Office forgets here to mention a dramatic increase of the tax rates. The Special Business Tax went from 0.11% to 3.3%. The transfer of ownership fees were mulitiplied by 200 since they went from 0.01% to 2% !
With this information the 49% increase in tax revenue seems weak and may reveal in fact a drop in the value of transactions.
On the other hand, most of the new projects approved are projects designed by Thai companies offering very cheap housing (THB 1 to 3 million) to a Thai middle class that is still hypothetical and sold with a heavy dose of credit (which leads to a fear of a bubble on this particular segment of the market).
Good info here. Long time reader, first time poster....keep it up please!
Posted by: April | December 21, 2011 at 05:20 PM