Property owners who bought or inherited their house this year can claim back the stamp duty they paid following the belated introduction of Budget 2013 measures.
To reclaim the money they are owed, first-time buyers and direct heirs of a residential property – the two categories of buyers eligible under the Budget schemes – must think back to the 20th century and resort to good old pen and paper.
A letter to the Capital Transfer Section in Merchants Street, Valletta, outlining the case and refund request should take around three weeks to process, a Finance Ministry spokesman said.
Those who spent their pennies on a low-emission Euro 5 or 6 car and registered it at some point between December 11, 2012 and January 13 of this year are a bit luckier: car licence fee refunds due to them will be automatically issued by Transport Malta.
They are not the only ones to benefit. Owners of motorcycles registered between December 11, 2012 and March 1, 2013 will also get refunds, as will those who bought a used passenger car less than five years old from outside the EU and registered it between November 29, 2012 and April 8, this year.
So too will owners of vintage cars registered from November onwards as well as commercial vehicles registered between December and March.
Budget 2013 also promises higher refund rates for people restoring a grade 1 or 2 property within an old town or village centre. The finer details of this scheme have yet to be ironed out, although a government spokesman indicated it would likely follow procedures used in previous such schemes.
Assuming that claiming procedures remain unchanged, those seeking a refund would need to provide a valid planning permit and restoration method statement for the works.
“Applicants will be able to obtain a copy of the application form and guidance notes from Mepa’s offices and website, assuming the previous scheme is adopted,” the spokesman explained.
The Budget also provides for various other financial schemes, which have now come into effect, ranging from a grant for personal sports equipment to a €500 handout for scrapping an old car to replace it with a new one.
People who buy and restore properties away from village centres will now save two per cent on their document duty fees and can benefit from a 20 per cent tax credit, capped at €200,000, on restoration and development expenses.