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Months after it was announced to much furore, the Palaszczuk government has officially scrapped the state’s maligned land tax.
Few taxes have been met with as much criticism as the Queensland government’s announcement last December that it would charge land tax in the state based on the total value of Australia-wide property, as opposed to just those owned in the Sunshine State.
An amendment moved in State Parliament last Wednesday, 9 November, officially repealed the “rare beast” land tax after it was placed on ice at the end of September following backlash from state premiers, notably Dominic Perrottet of NSW, who brandished the tax as lazy before announcing his government would not comply with the release of the relevant required information for its enforcement.
The government’s decision to delete the tax before it came into effect has been welcomed by Antonia Mercorella, chief executive officer of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ).
“From the outset, the REIQ led with strong opposition to this confidence-shattering regime,” she said.
“We feared the repercussions for our economy and the potential damage it would cause to residential and commercial rental relationships for a relatively insignificant gain.”
Ms Mercorella explained the institute’s concerns were compounded by numerous messages from industry stakeholders expressing concerns with the tax and its current and future investment implications, raising concerns about a mass exodus from the Sunshine State’s market.
She cited the recently released Queensland vacancy rates for the September quarter as the state’s vacancy rates fell to 0.6 per cent, further ratifying the tightness of its rental market.
It is a trend Ms Mercorella detailed as unlikely to improve anytime soon before adding that “against this challenging backdrop of insufficient housing supply, to see this amendment passed and the land tax regime put to bed is a most welcome and sensible move”.
“For those who were concerned that the land tax regime was only being temporarily shelved and could be resurrected, it’s reassuring that the Treasurer has confirmed that tax will not be making a comeback,” she added.
With the controversial tax now culled, Ms Mercorella explained the focus should now shift to the state’s other housing issues.
“What the Queensland Housing Roundtable and Summit clearly demonstrated was that we’re all extremely concerned about the current housing supply issues we are facing in Queensland, and we’re eager to get short- and long-term solutions underway,” she said.
The aforementioned summit saw, amongst other things, the Queensland government announce an additional $1 billion investment to boost its Housing Investment Fund (HIF).
Mr Mercorella concluded that the institute “looks forward to the Premier implementing initiatives raised at the Housing Summit to offer the Queensland community another glimmer of hope that we’re all working together to bring this crisis to an end”.
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