The Property Council of Australia’s Victorian Division has released research providing ten years of evidence that Victoria’s tax on international capital does not benefit Victorians.
‘Measuring the economic impact of Victoria’s foreign purchaser additional duty and absentee owner surcharge’ explores the impact of the Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty (FPAD) and the Absentee Owner Surcharge (AOS) on Victoria since its introduction in 2015.
The independent research conducted by AEAS shows that since 2015, these prohibitive taxes have resulted in:
- Victoria losing 81,598 new dwellings – with an estimated value of $63.9 billion
- Victoria’s budget missing out on $194 million in stamp duty and land tax
- between 55,397 and 90,951 Victorian jobs being lost
- a net loss to the Victorian economy of between $57 and $93 billion since 2015-16.
The Property Council’s pre-budget submission delivered to the Victorian Government in December 2024 provided a roadmap to improve investment and housing growth in the state.
The Property Council is calling for the immediate suspension of both the Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty (FPAD) and Absentee Owner Surcharge (AOS).
The Property Council is also urging both the government and opposition to commit to a tax review that will:
- Revise exemption guidelines for better alignment with current economic needs
- Introduce tax thresholds to adjust for rising property prices and ensure revenue neutrality, and
- Commit to no further increases in property taxes to stabilise the investment climate