Kim O’KEEFFE (Shepparton) (15:59): I rise to speak on the State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2023. This bill includes the 51st and 52nd new or increased taxes since Labor were elected in 2014. Victorians are now paying the highest taxes per person in Australia. At a time when the cost of living is having a significant impact, Victorians are subject to the highest taxes and highest property tax. Days after announcing and co-signing the housing statement with housing and construction stakeholders, the Treasurer announced these new taxes at a Property Council breakfast. The first act of the Allan Labor government was to tax Victorians more, an outcome after hearing about this announcement at that breakfast. The government is unclear as to the impact of these new taxes on increasing housing supply and forcing property development and property sale.
The government’s stated policy intent with the introduction of these new taxes is to increase housing supply, but they have failed to provide enough evidence-based modelling to demonstrate that these new taxes will in fact deliver upon this policy intent. In the absence of a detailed plan to end waste and better manage spending, Victorians can have no confidence that any revenue raised from these new taxes will assist with the housing crisis. The government has failed to consult with stakeholders on the introduction of these new taxes set out in the State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2023. Instead of a fixation on tax, the government need strategies to incentivise investment into Victoria.
Without any warning the Treasurer announced that the government would expand the vacant residential land tax to become a statewide tax. This amendment to the Land Tax Act 2005 will see the vacant residential land tax imposed on residential land that is unoccupied for more than six months in a calendar year. The current suite of exemptions from the vacant residential land tax will continue to apply, which will see homes that are not being rented or occupied in a particular year covered if they are a holiday home, are occupied regularly for work purposes or are under construction or being renovated. There is a lot of interest in regard to how that will work. With many people using their homes for six months of the year and spending six months in their other homes, there are lots of variations, so it is very hard to focus on what that could end up looking like.
In addition, the bill seeks to prevent the 10 per cent concession duty that is charged on eligible corporate reconstruction and consolidation from applying concurrently with the 10 per cent concessional duty. This is charged on either a relevant acquisition by a public landholder or a relevant acquisition arising from certain restructures of listed stapled entities that can result in only 1 per cent of the normal duty payable. Further, the bill makes amendments to the Duties Act 2000 to apply key eligibility requirements for the pensioner and concession card duty reduction to all transfers, not just cardholders who are eligible, like pensioners, who are parties to the transaction. Eligible concession card holders may receive an exemption or concession from duty on a home duty reduction. However, this will only apply to eligible cardholders under the Duties Act 2000 when it is intended to apply to all transferees to the transaction. This bill will amend the First Home Owner Grant and Home Buyer Schemes Act 2000 to ensure the existing requirement to elect either the first home owner grant or the pensioner and concession card duty reduction continues to apply and operate.
As part of the government’s COVID debt repayment plan through the State Taxation Acts Amendment Act 2023, it introduced the COVID-19 debt temporary land tax surcharge, another tax for Victorians to suffer because of the financial mismanagement of this government. The COVID-19 debt temporary land tax surcharge will commence from the 2024 land tax year and will see taxpayers pay an additional fixed charge of $500 for aggregated landholdings between $50,000 and $100,000 and $975 for aggregated landholdings above $100,000 until the temporary surcharge ends in 2033.
Victoria is in record debt, which is set to reach at least $165 billion by 2026. It is Victorians that continue to pay for Labor’s incompetence and gross financial mismanagement at a time when the state is experiencing a cost-of-living crisis, yet we continue to be hit with more taxes. No government in history has ever taxed its way to prosperity – not one – yet this government has, on average, introduced a new tax or an increase to an existing tax every two months since 2014. This includes payroll tax; rental tax; taxing downsizers; holiday and tourism tax, which is a huge concern for regional Victoria; health tax; and now, we know, more taxes on schools.
The Windfall Gains Tax Act 2021 provides that windfall gains tax does not apply to a rezoning that causes land to be brought into contribution areas for growth areas infrastructure contribution purposes or to the first rezoning of such land after 1 July 2023 – the commencement date of this tax imposed on Victorians because of this government – if it was in this contribution area immediately before that date. However, if land is only brought into the contribution area after 1 July 2023, it is unclear whether the first subsequent rezoning is excluded and therefore not liable for windfall gains tax despite a growth areas infrastructure contribution being payable on the land.
Under the Labor government, Victoria is broke and life continues to get harder. Victoria has higher debt than Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania combined, at a cost of almost $15 million per day in interest. This is astonishing. On top of that, we now have an additional debt of over $500 million from the Commonwealth Games debacle. The final figure is yet to be determined.
The wasted taxpayers money could have been spent on our appalling roads and in my electorate on things like the completion stage for GV Health, which has been left unfinished; the development of the Shepparton Sports Stadium; or progressing the much-needed Shepparton bypass. Communities continue to miss out due to this government’s financial mismanagement.
This government proves time and time again that it cannot financially manage the state, and the consequences are more taxes and less investment where it is desperately needed. In the absence of a detailed plan to end waste and better manage spending across the state, Victorians can continue to have no confidence that any revenue raised from these new taxes will assist in addressing and fixing the state’s housing crisis. The government must take responsibility for their financial decisions and the massive detrimental impact their financial mismanagement is having on our state.
The State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2023 will further continue to punish Victorians who are already doing it tough. What we see is increased taxes at a time when Victorians can least afford them. In addition, the government should be focusing its efforts on easing the cost-of-living crisis that Victorians are living through by ensuring that every Victorian does not have to live with the stress of not being able to make ends meet.
The State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Bill 2023 continues to punish Victorians for this government’s financial mismanagement and incompetence. Once again Victorians are being asked to pay the price of the incompetence of this Labor government. I also wish to support the amendment of the National Party leader, particularly around consulting with key housing industry stakeholders on the impact of this bill and making sure that we have that detail.