Queensland election: Palaszczuk to hit the wealthy with tax hikes

Annastacia Palaszczuk has launched an ­assault on the wealthy just two days before voters go to the polls.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk poses with a meerkat at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast. Picture: AAP

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has launched an ­assault on the wealthy just two days before voters go to the polls, revealing plans for four new “top end of town” taxes that will reap almost $500 million over three years.

The shock taxes were announced as a new Galaxy poll found Ms Palaszczuk was on the verge of clinging to power, with Labor leading the Liberal National Party 52 per cent to 48 per cent on a two-party-­preferred basis.

The poll, conducted for The Courier-Mail this week, found Pauline Hanson’s One Nation’s vote had sunk from 18 per cent to 12 per cent statewide over the past month, enabling Labor to build its primary vote from 35 per cent to 37 per cent, close to the result recorded in Ms Palaszczuk’s surprise victory against Campbell Newman in 2015.

The LNP has lifted its primary vote from 32 per cent to 35 per cent but well below the 41.3 per cent recorded in 2015.

After the blackout on political advertising was imposed yesterday, Treasurer Curtis Pitt revealed Labor would hit wealthy Queenslanders, foreigners, and gambling companies with the four new taxes.

Having promised no new taxes before the 2015 election, Mr Pitt yesterday announced a $75m hit over three years collectively for Queenslanders who buy cars that cost more than $100,000, and a new land tax category for the state’s 850 largest property holders (not including farms or family homes) that will raise $227m over the same period.

Foreign buyers of property will have their transfer duty increased from 3 per cent to 7 per cent, ­funnelling an extra $99m into the government’s coffers over three years.

And interstate online bookmakers — such as Northern ­Territory-based Lottoland — will have to pay a 15 per cent charge on their net wagering ­revenue, raising $90m over three years.

Both major parties released their election costings yesterday, with Labor outspending the LNP on promises, committing to shell out $2.78 billion over four years, compared with the LNP’s $1.63bn.

But Queensland’s nation-leading total debt is still forecast to top $80bn by 2020-21, no matter which party wins tomorrow’s election, after Labor and the LNP both failed to deliver a plan to significantly reduce the state’s ballooning borrowings, despite a promise from Ms Palaszczuk.

Mr Pitt defended the election-eve taxes as being levied only on the wealthiest 1 per cent of Queenslanders.

“If you can afford a Maserati, a Porsche, a Lamborghini, or a Ferrari, you can contribute a bit extra to the investment and growth in Queensland,” Mr Pitt said.

“These are the top end of town, the people who can pay.”

LNP Treasury spokesman Scott Emerson announced a new gaming tax directed at online betting agency Ubet, to raise $7.5m in 2018-19.

Despite promises from Ms Palaszczuk just hours earlier that Mr Pitt would reveal Labor’s debt-reduction plan yesterday, there was no new plan, with Labor set to reduce total debt by just $276m compared with budget predictions, to $80.87bn in 2020-21.

The state’s budget had debt hitting $81.14bn in 2020-21.

Mr Emerson confirmed his party’s policies would also see state debt hit $80bn in 2020-21, reaching $80.47bn, a reduction of $680m on the budget projection and only slightly lower than Labor’s prediction.

Under both parties, debt will continue to rise year on year, both on the government’s preferred measure of general government-sector debt and the state’s total borrowings.

 

The Courier-Mail/Galaxy poll of 1500 Queenslanders revealed a sharp divergence in voting patterns between the state’s southeast corner and the rest of the state.

On a two-party-preferred basis, the LNP leads in regional Queensland 52 per cent to Labor’s 48 per cent, while in the southeast Labor leads 54 per cent to 46 per cent.

Senator Hanson’s party has built a 20 per cent primary vote in regional Queensland. This has put One Nation in a prime position to return MPs to the floor of parliament for the first time since 2009, while the preference decisions of the party’s voters will have a decisive impact.

The election result will hinge heavily on unpredictable preference flows from One Nation supporters after Labor controver­sially ditched Queensland’s “Just Vote 1” laws.

Labor has targeted Opposition Leader Tim Nicholls over his past as Campbell Newman’s treasurer, when he sacked 14,000 public servants and planned to privatise state assets.

Mr Pitt said the LNP’s costings disguised the Opposition Leader’s intentions.

“The LNP will be, as usual, sneaky and will hide the fact they will cut, they will hide the fact they will find new and interesting ways to talk about asset sales without talking about asset sales,” he said.

Mr Emerson said the LNP’s costings showed Labor’s claims were baseless. “A vote for Labor is a vote for tax, tax, tax and tax,” Mr Emerson said.