What taxes (if any) are payable by the owner of real estate on a recurring basis and can these be reduced or offset in any way?
The recurring taxes outside the transfer costs that are payable by an owner of real estate are the annual charges for land use which includes ground rents, tenement rates and such other levies for development and business premises which the government authorities impose on owners and occupiers of real property. The rates are uniformly imposed on properties depending on locations and the nature of the building developments.
The Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection) Act 1998, provides for state governments to charge and collect business premises registration fee and development levy, annually from property owners. Also, the Personal Income Tax Act and the Companies Income Tax Act, provides that rental payable to the owner of a property is subject to Withholding tax and imposes an obligation on the person paying rent to withhold 10% for remittance to the tax authority and collect a tax credit note in favour of the owner of the property to offset its tax liability at the end of the tax year. Please note that withholding tax is not charged on rental income or dividends due to a real estate investment company.