Land Tax Bill passed

The Marshall government's Land Tax (Miscellaneous) Amendment Bill 2019 passed the Legislative Council with the support of Advance SA and the SA Greens, followed by the House of Assembly.

The significant reform package delivers $189 million in tax cuts for SA investors over three years - including land tax relief for thousands of smaller 'mum and dad' investors - and massively slashes the top land tax rate from a national high 3.7 per cent to just 2.4pc, which is equal to the average of all mainland states.

Treasurer Rob Lucas said the reforms - which have been welcomed by a wide range of industry stakeholders including the Property Council and Business SA - will deliver a more competitive, investment-attracting environment for the state, that will drive significant jobs and economic growth.

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"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for significant land tax reform that will benefit South Australians now and into the future,'' he said.

"This reform package not only massively slashes the top land tax rate from a national high 3.7pc to just 2.4pc to create a more competitive business and investing environment for SA, but delivers a far more equitable and fairer land tax system."

But the government has not compromised on its objective to introduce changes to aggregation rules in SA.

"This means that no longer will it be possible for an investor to hold $3 million in property in seven separate companies and not pay a single dollar in land tax," Mr Lucas said.

Social welfare organisations have also publicly supported the reforms, including Junction Australia, Housing Choices SA and Anglicare SA.

But the Labor Party says the "crippling" Land Tax hikes will hurt local jobs, hurt small businesses and drive up rents.

Opposition treasurer spokesperson Stephen Mullighan said the prospect of the Land Tax hikes had already wreaked havoc on SA's economy in recent weeks, including business confidence crashing to record lows; economic growth slowing to 1.4pc; and unemployment going up to 6.2pc.

"Now these Land Tax hikes go from theory to reality," he said.

"When thousands of South Australians open their next Land Tax bill, they're going to see crippling increases and they'll have one person to blame: Steven Marshall.

"Steven Marshall promised lower costs, yet he's delivering higher costs."