Alarming Land Tax Hike Overshadows Growth Initiatives In WA Budget

Alarming Land Tax Hike Overshadows Growth Initiatives In WA BudgetThe third consecutive year of big land tax increases has overshadowed the good news on infrastructure spending and asset sales, in the 2015/16 WA State Budget.Joe Lenzo, Executive Director of the Property Council of Australia, said “it is alarming that the WA Government has chosen to increase the land tax rates while broadening the land tax base.””Many owners of medium to lower priced properties will be hit by huge and unprecedented land tax increases.””The land tax cash grab risks limiting the effectiveness of a number of other growth initiatives in the Budget.””The continuation of the State’s big infrastructure investment program, with a focus on major CBD construction projects, will position the property sector as a major economic driver as the economy transitions from a resources-focus.””The promise of additional government asset sales and leasings, including office buildings, will be received positively in the property market.””The funding initiatives for the Government’s Key Start home loans and the retention of the First Home Owner Grant for new home building and newly built homes will boost the supply of housing and benefit housing affordability in WA.””The WA property sector is calling for an end to the continued reliance on large, ad hoc land tax increases and piecemeal changes to tax thresholds to underwrite the State Budget. It is time for a genuine review of the tax system to ensure that it is fairer and contributes positively to the State’s growth priorities.”