Written answer by Ministry of National Development on abuse of Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty by joint owners of HDB flats

May 8, 2023

Question No: 4491

Question by: Mr Gan Thiam Poh

To ask the Minister for National Development since the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) was introduced, how many joint owners of HDB flats have been found to have falsely filed for divorce to decouple their property to avoid paying the ABSD on the purchase of a second property.

Answer:

The Court has to be satisfied that there are valid statutory grounds before granting a divorce. 

2        No HDB flat owners have been found to have falsely filed for divorce to decouple their HDB flat ownership for the purpose of avoiding payment of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) on the next property purchase.