Queensland budget land tax slug ‘unjustifiable’

Queensland’s budget has forgotten about the property industry, hindering rather than helping the sector, insiders say.

Property council executive director Chris Mountford. Picture: Mark Calleja.

Queensland’s budget has forgotten about the property industry, hindering rather than helping the sector in a depressed market, insiders say.

Treasurer Jackie Trad offered no stimulus package to help the sluggish market during her budget speech on Tuesday, despite the 13 per cent stamp duty writedown this financial year leaving a hole in state revenue.

“The Queensland real estate sector, which employs more than 50,000 people, and through its property taxes, such as stamp duty, delivers some of the biggest revenue streams to the government coffers, was ignored in the state budget,” the Real Estate ­Institute of Queensland said.

“As property prices soften significantly in the Sunshine State, the government had an opportunity to help the industry with confidence-boosting measures that would encourage Queenslanders to invest in property.”

It was revealed later in the documents that the government had increased the rate of land tax for holdings over $5 million.

The increase will primarily ­affect developers at a time when housing approvals are falling.

The Housing Institute of Australia’s executive director for Queensland, Mike Roberts, said the state government “could not have picked a worse time to have introduced something like that”.

Property Council Queensland executive director Chris Mountford was damning, labelling the land tax increase, worth an extra $778m over the next four years, “unjustifiable and uncompetitive”.

“It’s the bottom line on the investor’s spreadsheet that determines whether they invest in Queensland, or anywhere else in the world,” he said. “This tax slug makes job-generating investment from offshore players in key sectors like tourism less likely in Queensland.”

Mr Mountford said the ­increase was the ninth in a list of tax hikes on the property industry since October 2016.

Mr Roberts gave credit to some of the state government’s payroll tax rates changes but had reservations on how they would attract larger companies.

Brisbane City Council handed down its budget yesterday, announcing a 33 per cent infrastructure charges rebate for developers who build properties to a “universal housing” gold standard.

“This will provide purpose-built housing for our ageing population and those with a disability, and will assist those seeking funding under the specialist disability accommodation (provision) through the NDIS,” Mr Mountford said.