When transferring land, there will be a 2% transfer fee, 1% withholding tax and 0.5% stamp duty. If the land is being sold by a company or an individual that has owned it for less than five years, there will be business tax of 3.3%. Also, company income tax or capital gains tax for individuals must be paid on the profit. Taxable value for calculating transfer fees is based on the higher of the purchase price or the government valuation.
The government valuation can often be significantly higher than the purchase price—and be quite a surprise to the seller and buyer. You should negotiate with the seller to pay some or all of the costs. If there is back tax owed on the land, it will have to be paid before transfer.
