The Australian state of Victoria said on Wednesday it was more than doubling taxes on foreign property buyers in a move reflecting growing public concern over the volume of Chinese money flowing into the local real estate¹ market.

澳大利亚维多利亚州周三表示，将把对外国购房者征收的税提高一倍以上。此举反映出，流入当地房地产市场的中国资金的规模引起了澳大利亚民众越来越大的担忧。

The move to increase stamp duty surcharges for foreigners to 7 per cent from July 1, up from 3 per cent, comes as New Zealand considers a land tax on foreigners.

维多利亚州决定，从今年7月1日起，外国人购房需缴纳的额外印花税的税率将从3%提高到7%。与此同时，新西兰也在考虑对外国购房者征收土地税。

Australia approved $24bn in Chinese property investments in 2014-15, double the previous year’s figure. Australian property prices, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, have experienced a four-year boom that is focusing political attention on housing affordability².

2014-15年度，澳大利亚批准了240亿美元的中资房地产投资，金额比上一年翻了一番。澳大利亚房价——尤其是悉尼和墨尔本的房价——已连续四年暴涨，令住房可负担性成为政治关注的焦点。

The opposition³ Labor party is promising⁴ to cut tax breaks for buy-to-let investors⁵ ahead of a July 2 election, while Victoria’s stamp duty increase for foreign buyers comes just a year after it introduced the tax for the first time.

澳大利亚反对党工党(Labor party)正承诺争取在7月2日大选前削减对购房出租者的税额减免，维多利亚州则在去年首次推出针对外国购房者的印花税后仅过了一年就上调了该税率。

“Doubling the tax within a year makes foreign buyers feel very unwelcome,” said Esther Yong, director of ACproperty, a Chinese-language property portal.

中文地产门户网站“澳洲家园网”(ACproperty)主管Esther Yong表示：“一年不到就将税率上调了一倍，令外国购房者感到自己非常不受欢迎。”

There are already signs that tighter scrutiny⁶ of foreign transactions, restrictions⁷ on bank lending to foreigners and the stamp duty tax in Victoria are beginning to temper overseas demand for property.

已经有迹象显示，收紧对外国人购房的审查、限制银行向外国人放贷以及维多利亚州征收的印花税，正开始抑制外国人对澳大利亚房地产的需求。

National Australia Bank’s latest Residential⁸ Property Survey shows the number of foreign buyers as a proportion of overall transactions fell to 11.8 per cent in the three months to end March, from 14.4 per cent three months earlier — its lowest level in 2.5 years.

澳大利亚国民银行(National Australia Bank)的最新《住宅地产调查》报告(Residential Property Survey)显示，今年一季度，外国人购房在所有房产交易中的占比降至11.8%，为两年半来的最低水平，上一季度的占比为14.4%。

Alan Oster, NAB’s chief economist⁹, said the reduced foreign demand probably reflected oversupply¹⁰, particularly in the Melbourne market where up to 30 per cent of city centre apartments were unoccupied.

澳大利亚国民银行首席经济学家欧思濂(Alan Oster)表示，外国需求减少很可能反映的是供应过剩，尤其是在墨尔本市场——墨尔本市中心公寓空置率高达30%。

“For many Chinese buyers buying a property in Australia is not about yield, it is about getting their money offshore,” he said.

他说：“许多中国买家在澳买房不是为了收益，而是为了把钱转到海外。”

He said the inflow of foreign money was a short-term boon¹¹ for the economy but could become a risk if Chinese buyers suddenly wanted to withdraw.

他表示，短期而言外资流入对澳大利亚经济是个利好，但如果中国买家突然想撤资，就可能变成一个风险。

The Reserve Bank of Australia echoed these sentiments in its latest report on financial stability.

澳大利亚央行(RBA)在其最新金融稳定性报告中呼应了这种观点。

“A substantial reduction in Chinese demand would likely weigh most heavily on the apartment markets of inner-city Melbourne and parts of Sydney, not only because Chinese buyers are particularly prevalent in these segments but also because other factors would reinforce any initial fall in prices,” said the RBA.

它表示：“受中国需求大幅减少影响最严重的，很可能会是墨尔本内城和悉尼部分地区的公寓市场，这不仅是因为涉足这块市场的中国买家特别多，还因为价格一旦开始下跌其他因素会使跌势变得更猛。”