Labor Brings Culture Wars To The Tax Office
The changes to taxation contained in the 2021-22 State Budget should concern all Victorians.
The 2010 Henry Tax Review recommended that ‘revenue raising should be concentrated on four robust and efficient broad-based taxes: personal income, business income, rents on natural resources and land, and private consumption.’
The final report recommended that both payroll tax and stamp duty should be abolished.
Eleven years later, the Labor Party is determined to pursue the opposite path, by introducing higher rates for both taxes while collecting more revenue from them.
Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur said, “Higher taxes are the inevitable consequence of Labor’s squandered spending and ballooning of the bureaucracy, which Victorians are now forced to endure.”
The Labor Government is introducing a new rate of stamp duty of 6.5% for properties valued over $2 million.
Mrs McArthur said, “This new stamp duty bracket for more expensive properties is emblematic of the Labor Party’s persistent waging of class warfare and disdain for anyone who works hard to get ahead.”
“These vendees are already paying more stamp duty because their properties have a higher dutiable value, so the notion that this increase is ‘fairer’ is nonsense.”
There will also be a new surcharge on payroll tax of 0.5% for businesses with payrolls above $10 million and an additional 0.5% for businesses with payrolls above $100 million.
Mrs McArthur said, “The Treasurer portrays this new tax as only applying to big corporations that can easily afford to absorb the cost, which is completely untrue.”
“Simply because a business employs a large amount of people does not mean that it can therefore easily bear the burden of increased taxes, with many operating with small profit margins under the current dire economic conditions created by Labor.”
“The mental health levy will be funded by pay rise rejections and fewer jobs creations.”
Land tax will increase by 0.25% for properties valued over $1.8 million and 0.3% for properties valued over $3 million.
Mrs McArthur said, “Labor economic illiteracy denies them the ability to comprehend who will bear the cost of these land tax increases.”
“We cannot expect landlords to merely absorb the cost of these tax increases – instead, the tax incidence will fall on student renters, businesses that hire office spaces and shopkeepers that lease storefronts, which will be passed on to consumers.”
The Government plans to impose a windfall gains tax on developers of up to 50%.
Mrs McArthur said, “In principle, a windfall gains tax on developers is logical because government rezoning that substantially increases the value of land with the stroke of a bureaucrat’s pen should be captured for public benefit.”
“I called for the capturing of a percentage of windfall land values in March this year.”
“However, Labor have completely botched the solution to this problem by not hypothecating the tax revenue to be spent on infrastructure in the local communities from where it is derived.”
“Instead, the revenue will go into consolidated revenue and funnel more money into the government’s central coffers to be spent on more budget blowouts and new QUANGOs.”
This Labor Government is responsible for 38 new or increased taxes since the election of the Andrews’ Government. Taxing, inefficient spending and now virtue signalling, is their modus operandi.
Included in this year’s Budget is a 10 per cent flat increase on all Victorian Government fines.
The Government also seek to divide on the basis of gender by imposing an expanded land tax liability on ‘gender exclusive clubs’. We can only assume Men and Women only gyms, sporting clubs and community organisations are covered in this woke, virtue signalling tax grab.
Mrs McArthur denounced the new taxation changes in Victoria and called on the Legislative Council crossbench to oppose them.
“The Labor Government’s plan for economic recovery is tax high and spend wastefully.”
“These changes to taxation in Victoria will crush productive businesses and hardworking families.”
26 May 2021