In anticipation of amended legislation to be introduced in the 2013 Tax Plan, and in order to give a boost to the stagnating real estate market, the Ministry of Finance has issued a decree giving an approval and concession to extending to 36 months the six-month period for real estate transfer tax in the event of resale.
This extension only applies to real estate, residential or non-residential, purchased from September 1, 2012 onward. During a 36-month period following the purchase, the amount on which real estate transfer tax or VAT is owed − whereby the VAT cannot be deducted as input VAT − may, on resale of that real estate, be deducted from the real estate transfer tax base. A six-month period applies to real estate purchased before September 1, 2012.
This measure could act as an incentive, now that the real estate transfer tax base can be deducted over a much longer period when the real estate is resold. Although not included in the decree, the accompanying press release does state that the 36-month period applies to all real estate purchased before January 1, 2015.