Denmark opposition wants tax deductions for first-time home buyers
Denmark’s Liberal (Venstre) party, the largest opposition party, says it wants to make home ownership more affordable in Denmark.
Under the proposal, first-time home buyers could be given tax deductions on savings set aside for buying a home, newspaper Berlingske reports.
Specifically, would-be homeowners could receive a 20 percent tax reduction on up to 50,000 kroner per year for five years, according to the Liberal plan, which the party is set to present on Monday.
As such, a couple which together saved 500,000 kroner over a five-year period would get a benefit of 100,000 kroner under the proposed tax deduction.
In addition to the tax plan, the Liberals want to spend 100 million kroner yearly building housing, with 122,000 new homes for buyers planned over the next ten years. Municipalities would be given incentives to build more homes with shorter processing times under the scheme.
The Liberals estimate that the savings scheme for first-time buyers would be used by around 50,000 people per year and therefore cost around 1 billion kroner annually.
READ MORE: Danish apartment sales cool to eight-year low
A reform of job centres and municipal employment services, which the Liberals will also present in the near future, would help to save money which could be spent on the home ownership plan, party leader Jakob Ellemann-Jenses also said in the Berlingske interview.
The Liberals party count with the support of the Conservatives and the Danish People’s Party, although the former party is reported to favour broader tax cuts.
The Social Democratic government opposes the plan. Housing minister Christian Rabjerg Madsen told Berlingske that the proposal would push up house prices in larger cities, forcing people on normal incomes to move away from larger population centres.
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Under the proposal, first-time home buyers could be given tax deductions on savings set aside for buying a home, newspaper Berlingske reports.
Specifically, would-be homeowners could receive a 20 percent tax reduction on up to 50,000 kroner per year for five years, according to the Liberal plan, which the party is set to present on Monday.
As such, a couple which together saved 500,000 kroner over a five-year period would get a benefit of 100,000 kroner under the proposed tax deduction.
In addition to the tax plan, the Liberals want to spend 100 million kroner yearly building housing, with 122,000 new homes for buyers planned over the next ten years. Municipalities would be given incentives to build more homes with shorter processing times under the scheme.
The Liberals estimate that the savings scheme for first-time buyers would be used by around 50,000 people per year and therefore cost around 1 billion kroner annually.
READ MORE: Danish apartment sales cool to eight-year low
A reform of job centres and municipal employment services, which the Liberals will also present in the near future, would help to save money which could be spent on the home ownership plan, party leader Jakob Ellemann-Jenses also said in the Berlingske interview.
The Liberals party count with the support of the Conservatives and the Danish People’s Party, although the former party is reported to favour broader tax cuts.
The Social Democratic government opposes the plan. Housing minister Christian Rabjerg Madsen told Berlingske that the proposal would push up house prices in larger cities, forcing people on normal incomes to move away from larger population centres.
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