The State Taxation Acts Amendment Bill 2019 was introduced into the Victorian Parliament yesterday afternoon. The Bill contains a major change to the ‘economic entitlement’ provisions of the Victorian Duties Act 2000 that will have a significant and adverse impact on many property developers and the property market more generally.
The Victorian Government has targeted foreign property owners once again, by announcing it will increase the Foreign Purchaser Additional Duty from 7% to 8% and the Absentee Owner Surcharge from 1.5% to 2%.
Declining property values have impacted Government finances, driving them to look elsewhere for revenue. With no changes to land tax rates in sight, it is expected that an increasing number of land owners will be brought into the land tax net to make up for declining stamp duty revenue, particularly once property values recover.
The Victorian Labor Government has released its budget for the 2019-2020 year. One of the changes the Treasurer announced in the budget was in respect of the land tax principal place of residence exemption.
Stricter lending standards, regulatory pressures and changing consumer sentiment have dampened the property sector over the last few years. As the property sector has softened, buyers have become more discerning around the purchase of property, especially apartments, with some buyers delaying settlements. This is causing significant cash flow challenges to developers and others in the property sector.
The legislation to introduce the purchaser GST withholding regime for supplies of new residential property has been introduced into Parliament. Once enacted, the changes will come into effect from 1 July 2018.
Property remains a target for consideration with the ATO, and there is increasing engagement of people from all walks of life in “property plays” that often involve some level of improvement, if not complete development. With the real estate markets in Sydney and Melbourne experiencing sustained growth in residential property values, almost every owner has […]
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