Land tax complaints get short shrift from Tasmanian Premier

To remove the requirement for rent to be paid but then “still demand rental property owners pay their highly inflated land tax bills is incredibly unjust,” a property owners association has told Premier Peter Gutwein.

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PROPERTY owners cranky about their land tax bills have been told nobody likes paying tax but they should be happy their property values are increasing so robustly.

A campaign by the Tas­manian Residential Rental Property Owners Association reached state parliament on Thursday.

Land tax in Tasmania is payable on vacant land, commercial properties, rental properties and shacks, but not on primary places of residence or farmland.

Labor MP David O’Byrne said some people were receiving unexpected bills this year.

“We have been contacted by a large number of shack owners and mum and dad investors who have been hit with extraordinarily large annual increases, to the tune of 20 and 30 per cent,” he said.

“In some cases, land tax bills have quadrupled over the last three years.

“This not only impacts ­people at a time when they can least afford it, it will add to the housing crisis by driving up rents.”

Premier Peter Gutwein during question time in State Parliament. Picture: Zak Simmonds

President of the Property Owners Association Louise Elliot has written to Premier Peter Gutwein expressing concern at the combined impact of a blanket ban on evictions and the new land tax assessments.

“To remove the requirement for rent to be paid but then still demand rental property owners pay their highly inflated land tax bills — issued and payable to your government — is incredibly unjust,” she wrote.

“It communicates the message that you, too, fall for the stereotype that rental property owners are wealthy.”

Ms Elliot said the combination of the two measures was causing stress.

Mr Gutwein said the rate of the tax had not increased and rising bills reflected rising property values.

“While I have some sympathy … it demonstrates the strength of our economy and the strength of our property market,” he said.

“I am hearing sales volumes of property in this state at the moment have held up and ­values have held up — in fact, values have increased.

“The way that land tax works is that between valuations, the Valuer-General applies an adjustment factor each year so that there is a smoothing of the impact between ­valuations.

“The increase in land tax demonstrates that property value, land value, has increased accordingly as well,” he said.

Finance Minister Michael Ferguson said land tax was an important part of the state’s revenue base, generating about $124m in 2019-20.

“We know many Tasmanians are doing it tough due to the impacts of the pandemic, and that’s why we waived the final tranche of land tax accounts for 2019-20,” he said.