On 21 June 2022, the Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 was introduced in the Queensland Parliament and includes amendments to the land tax framework. This Bill received the Royal Assent on 30 June 2022. You can access the Bill and Explanatory Notes here.
The Property Council has written to the Treasurer to again express our dismay at the introduction of this major change in how land tax will be calculated in Queensland.
Along with a fundamental opposition to the introduction of the interstate land tax model, concerns remain around the practical applications of levying land tax on Queensland landholdings at a rate determined as if the landholdings of the taxpayer in all Australian jurisdictions were all located in Queensland.
Areas of particular concern are:
Exemptions – the complexity of exemptions across jurisdictions. The interstate model will add significant burden to the taxpayer as it will require them to assess their landholdings in other jurisdictions against the exemption criteria in both Queensland and the jurisdiction in which their additional land is held to determine the availability of a land tax exemption.
Subdivider discount – draft legislation remains silent on the subdivider discount meaning that averaging will not apply to interstate land nor will the subdivider discount. The unavailability of the subdivider discount for non-Queensland land appears to be completely contrary to the policy intent.
With the passing of the legislation imminent, we have requested a commitment from Government that the Property Council and other key stakeholders will be consulted on how Government intends to raise public awareness and implement the largest reform to the method of collecting land tax the state has seen.