MacroBusiness Access Subscriber Only Content at 10:40 am on May 19, 2021 | 4 comments The Grattan Institute’s household finances program director, Brendan Coates, has taken aim at the Victorian Government’s stamp duty increase for property transactions above $2 million. Under this change, stamp duty will increase to $110,000 plus 6.5% for every dollar above $2 million. This is up from the 5.5% rate that currently applies to all properties valued over $960,000. Coates claims the change is a big “step backwards”: Prosper Australia’s director of advocacy, Karl Fitzgerald, also hit out at the stamp duty increase: “The stamp duty element will penalise turnover”… Victoria should be pushing for the abolition of stamp duty, Mr Fitzgerald said.