Among the many measures the government is taking, perhaps none is likely to have a more immediate impact on residential sales as a proposal to cancel the real estate sales tax. When Finance Minister Alena Schillerová put the idea out there last week, it looked as if it would come up for a vote quickly. But another week has gone by without the bill being put before parliament, something that’s likely to put most apartment sales on hold. The real estate tax is paid by the buyer, so getting rid of it was intended to breathe new life into the residential market. However, the minister’s new idea is that the new bill would also rescind the ability to claim interest payments on mortgages as a tax write-off.
