A good understanding of Stamp Duty Rates is necessary to know the various aspects of stamp duty rates for different transactions and their rates, concessions and exemptions.  Stamp Duty in Australia is a general purpose tax that is imposed on various types of documents and transactions relating to property acquisitions. Items include land, buildings, mining tenements, businesses and shares and land holding corporations. Life and general insurance policies, certain commercial leases, deeds pertaining to trusts and the issue and transfer of motor vehicle registration certificates. The revenue collected through the stamp duty is spent towards meeting the expenses of essential services like health, education, law and order and public safety.

The stamp duties collected on property transfers are a major and growing source of revenue for the state and territory governments of Australia.  This is around 25 percent of State and Territory taxation revenue in the year 2005-2006 alone.  In the budget of 2008 the government of Northern Territory had created some real incentives for the people of Northern Territory to live and work there by allowing concessions and exemptions in stamp duty rates in NT.  

Stamp duty reforms are aimed at reducing the stamp duty rates on the purchase of homes, properties and businesses. This reduction will enable the people of Northern Territory to save $12 million.  The concession and exemptions in stamp duty rates helps more people to enter the housing market using the tax free threshold for the first home buyers.  The changes that took effect on 6th May 2008 are:

• The first home buyer tax free threshold has been raised to $385,000 from $350,000.
• The minimum conveyance stamp duty has been reduced from 2.2% to1.5%.
• The Minimum rate has been reduced form 5.4% to 4.95% for properties that cost $525,000 and above.  This was $500,000 before this reform.  This reform is estimated to benefit more than 1300 first home buyers, 1700 other home buyers, 3400 residential property investors and over 1400 other commercial property transactions.  

Exemptions on the stamp duty rates are also available to certain categories of transactions in Northern Territory.  The most common exemptions that are provided under the stamp duty exemption legislation require the applicant to submit a form to claim the exemption as per guidelines in the Revenue Circular and a link to the online form is also provided.  The exemptions to the stamp duty are available to:

1. Family Farms, Family homes transferred to joint names of spouses
2. Corporate Reconstructions, DE facto property settlements
3. Property settlements under section 90 of Schedule 2 of Stamp Duty Act
4. Trustees under Schedule 2 of Stamp duty Act,
5. Public Hospitals, Public benevolent institutions that are other than for commercial purpose under Schedule 2 of Stamp Duty Act

The Australian Government has also announced a First Home Owner Boost, to supplement the First Home Owner Grant Scheme funded by Territory Government.  First home buyers in Northern Territory are eligible for the First Home Owner Boost on contracts on properties entered into from 14 October 2008 to 30 June 2009. The changes in the stamp duty rates in Northern Territory and the tax reforms will bring relief to many home buyers and induce some activity in the housing market.