Taking a stand on property tax increases
The Property Council has escalated efforts to avert the State Government’s planned increases to land tax and foreign acquirer duty.
A public advertising and media push began on Wednesday 21 March, aimed at highlighting the true impact of the proposed tax hikes.
Courier Mail advertisement:
The State Government intends to introduce new land tax thresholds for aggregated land holdings with an unimproved value above $10 million. Individuals, companies and trusts who are within this new threshold will be subjected to a 25% increase in the rate of land tax from 1 July 2018.
An increase in the Government’s Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty from 3% to 7% of the dutiable value of the property will also apply from 1 July 2018.
The Property Council’s public push builds off previous advocacy efforts to explain the full economic impact of these increases to policy makers. The likely outcome of these tax hikes will be:
- Higher occupancy costs for Queensland businesses,
- An erosion of Queensland’s tax competitiveness,
- Up to a $1,000 increase to the cost of a new home, and
- The devaluing of Queensland property assets by over $1 billion.
As the State Government works to finalise the 2018/19 State Budget, the Property Council will continue to advocate for the tax increases to be abandoned, and for the Government to commit to reviewing and modernising Queensland’s property tax framework.
Further information on the Property Council’s position, and related advocacy work, can be found here: www.propertycouncil.com.au/qldtaxhikes