You would be excused for thinking the State of Origin is on. Except this time, NSW and Queensland aren’t playing with a football – they’re playing with land tax.
The Courier Mail Monday 26 September 2022
And what’s more Tasmania, the Northern Territory and South Australia have joined in, and like NSW, are all refusing to ‘play ball’ with Queensland’s new plan.
Queensland’s new proposed land tax changes mean a taxpayer’s land tax liability in that state is based on the whole worth of an investor’s land holdings, including interests held interstate.
The Government has claimed it is merely closing a ‘loophole’, however this is a major revision that ought to have been subject to extensive consultation.
This major expansion in land tax is fraught with issues.
Given the Queensland government needs the assistance of interstate revenue offices, a request that the NSW, Tasmanian, NT and SA governments have already turned down, it is still unclear how the tax will be calculated and collected.
With Property Council research showing 220,000 people are planning to move north from southern states and rental vacancies already at historic lows, Queensland needs more rental accommodation than ever before. The move can only worsen the housing crisis facing that state.
But it isn’t just the residential sector that will be impacted by this change.
Commercial landowners and companies with locations across several states will be seriously affected. Increasing land tax bills and adding more red tape for business makes no sense.
The Property Council will continue to argue that the Government should drop these changes and find a better way forward.
For more information, we are hosting a Member Briefing live stream at 9am AEST this morning with Duncan Bedford, Partner McCullough Robertson to give an overview of the model. Access the live stream.
