SA, NSW governments say no plans to introduce land tax like Qld

Two state governments from different political persuasions have indicated they will not follow the Palaszczuk government’s contentious land tax shake-up.

Two state governments from different political persuasions have indicated they will not follow the Palaszczuk government’s contentious land tax shake-up.

It came after Treasurer Cameron Dick declared last week that he would not abandon his new land tax regime, and claimed the hike would not drive rental prices higher.

South Australian Labor Treasurer Stephen Mullighan confirmed on Saturday his government had no intention of following “Queensland’s lead on land tax” – pointing to their commitment of no new taxes.

The Coalition government in NSW pointed to an earlier statement from their state’s Finance Minister Damien Tudehope, who indicated they would not be taking the same approach as Queensland.

The Victorian Labor state government, meanwhile, declined to respond to questions on Saturday asking if it planned to introduce a similar land tax regime to Queensland’s.

Mr Dick has been defending the new tax regime in recent weeks amid ramped-up criticism from the state Opposition and the Real Estate Institute of Queensland over the changes.

Treasurer Cameron Dick at a press conference in Brisbane. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

The Treasurer’s office did not respond to questions on Saturday asking why it was introducing a land tax regime that neither NSW nor Victoria had adopted – pointing to Mr Dick’s earlier comments instead.

“I made a decision to ensure people who were avoiding paying land tax paid their fair share in this state,” Mr Dick said last week.

“It’s a well-promoted tax-avoidance scheme to buy property in different jurisdictions – thereby avoiding the land tax threshold. We make no apologies for making the tax system fairer in Queensland.”

REIQ chief executive Antonia Mercorella said she doubted other states would introduce a similar land tax regime given the backlash, and was not surprised that NSW and South Australia had rejected the idea.

She said other states would be taking notice of the “anger and resentment” about the changes. “I don’t think anyone is buying the line (from Mr Dick) that it’s closing some sort of loophole.”

The changes are set to come into effect from July 1, 2023, and will see land tax calculated by using the total value of an investor’s Australian land – but they will only pay for the portion of their land in Queensland.

The LNP has previously called on the state government to release modelling on the land tax changes.

The Property Council of Queensland described the changes as an “unorthodox method of calculating land tax”, and warned rents would increase.

Originally published as SA, NSW governments say no plans to introduce land tax like Qld