Hong Kong’s anti-foreigner property tax may spread

Supposedly Queens is 47% foreign-born. I can't see this catching on in the USA, unless we use the more civilized definition (not seen in Asia) of "foreigner", which is a person from a foreign country with no residence in the USA.

The article says that even immigrants to HK who don't yet have permanent residence will be taxed. I wonder how long you have to reside in Hong Kong to become a permanent resident. If that number is small (under 5 years, say), then this tax might conceivably be something other than a money-grab, but it doesn't look like it.

you need to reside in Hong Kong for 7 years in order to become a permanent resident.

the fvcking honkees finally had a good idea

if they cant class mainland buyers as foreigners the point is moot.

Red-herring. The US legal definition of legal permanent resident is sufficient for this. This idea is essentially the same as Florida'a higher property tax for non-residents. All you need to do is promulgate an across the board 1% a year property taxes on all properties above $500k and 2.5% for those above $1MM 100% with no exception. And give New York state tax filers a credit in the exact same amount.

@allisunni - Thanks; that sounds reasonable enough. Still, imposing taxes on legal immigrants like this isn't going to help HK attract talent. I suppose it will help landlords, though, since immigrants looking for a long-term residence will just keep renting until they have a permanent visa.

@deanc - I caught that point too. Hong Kong as we know it will be gone inside half a century if they don't do something about how Mainland China is eating them alive.

@Jason - Wouldn't that plan be unfair to people who own $500k properties but pay less than $5k in state tax? With a 6.85% maximum state income tax rate, nobody earning under about $73,000 would have that much state tax to claim back. (Actually the income is even lower, because there are several brackets below the 6.85% maximum.)

When I was an expat in HK, you could obtain a residence visa by buying a property for a million dollars. Many expats took advantage of that offer in order to get residence status. Is that no longer an option?

"@Jason - Wouldn't that plan be unfair to people who own $500k properties but pay less than $5k in state tax? With a 6.85% maximum state income tax rate, nobody earning under about $73,000 would have that much state tax to claim back. (Actually the income is even lower, because there are several brackets below the 6.85% maximum.)"

I meant a refundable credit. Its just an idea, a way to tax only non-NYC residents more than actual full time NYers. I am sure it could be structured all sorts of ways.