Daniel Wills: Land tax package appeals to ‘mum and dad’ investors with tax cuts as Premier seeks to restore sense of trust
Premier Steven Marshall’s long-awaited new land tax package seeks to win back ‘mum and dad’ investors with big tax cuts, as well as his own credibility as a leader who keeps promises.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Premier Steven Marshall endured a bitter winter, as traditional supporters and even many of his own MPs were giving the cold shoulder and uncertainty reigned on land tax.
When the State Budget revealed a $40 million annual land tax clawback by closing a “loophole”, which allows investors to split ownership between complex legal structures, it came with precious little detail.
There was a vague pledge Mr Marshall would eventually be true to his pre-election rhetoric by reducing the total amount of tax paid and ensuring SA was open for business.
Scrollable table of land tax changes: Click here if not displaying properly
But without specifics, he left a vacuum that was fast filled by critics who feared the worst.
Only time will tell if this new package is enough to appease them. Even before its release there were warnings from Property Council of Australia SA executive director Daniel Gannon, a former senior adviser to Mr Marshall, that any plan which kept mooted changes to aggregation would not pass muster with industry.
The significant shift now is that the Government is potentially able to claim back confused so-called “mum and dad” investors, with tax cut figures and examples to back it up.
They have moved to paint, in often quite abrasive language, those who are being hit by the reforms as a coterie of the well-heeled, who are neither swinging voters in marginal seats or even a very large group of people at all.
In the Parliament, Treasurer Rob Lucas still has Labor and the crossbench to convince if this package is to ever become law. But his appeal that there are “overwhelmingly” more winners under the reform than losers gives leverage he’s lacked for months.
But while the arguments over land tax rates and thresholds has been a policy problem searching sluggishly for a solution, the bigger cost has been the hit to Mr Marshall’s credibility as a trustworthy leader.
The most resonant component of this battle has been the resurrection of Liberal discord, which Mr Marshall largely banished on becoming leader in 2013, and the contrast with his pre-election brand.
Mr Marshall was meticulous in the immediate aftermath of last year’s election as he ticked off a first 100 days action plan released during the campaign. He wanted to ensure no one could accuse him of breaking promises or doing anything in power other than what he said in opposition.
The sense that he was lifting costs on businesses or households with a shock land tax hike cut hard against that narrative. He now has something concrete to throw the other way, if he can finally sell it well.