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Your views: on the ongoing ‘land tax debacle’

Readers air their views on the ongoing debate surrounding land tax – including its likely impact on ‘mum and dad investors’, businesses, and the State Government itself.

Nov 13, 2019, updated Nov 13, 2019

Commenting on the story ‘Sort it out’: Business SA’s tax warning to Govt as confidence plummets: The land tax debacle is a sad reflection on the Liberals saying one thing – no tax increases – and doing another.

Every time a government says it is making changes to make something “fairer”, you just know that the result will be anything but.

Our current land tax regime is very unfair, with the highest impost in Australia. If the Government had fairness in mind it would have simply lowered the rate and increased the thresholds.

The aggregation proposal is a disaster – how can a government propose to look through perfectly legal structures just so it can raise more tax?

Combined with the revaluation rollout ordered by the Government, the tax hit on land will be enormous. As an example, my residential assessment in Walkerville increased by 29.5 per cent, leading to a council and SA Water rates increase of around 25 per cent.

I know there is no land tax on my home, but extrapolate these likely value increases across the state and you get some idea of the chaos that will reign.

The projection that the tax take will increase by $80 million or so is rubbish – if the new land tax bill is ever passed, landholders will collapse under the tax burden.

Mr Marshall and Mr Lucas will not accept and admit that is the real problem – and may well lead to their party being a one-term government!

Hopefully, Mr Marshall will see the light, dump the proposed changes and amend the current land tax so South Australia becomes competitive and open for business. Colin Gaetjens

WE ARE Mum and Dad investors … we will be relying on our two investment properties to provide our superannuation income. We feel we are being penalised for planning ahead, by trying to reduce our dependence on the state. Thank you, Frank Pangallo, for sticking up for us. – Ali and Daryl Birbeck

I HAVE attended various forums and meetings to try and understand Rob Lucas’s proposal on land tax.

My husband and I are builders and we have some built units which are currently on the market, but are not selling due to the uncertainties of the day with land tax. We have stopped building further, until we know the outcome and where we stand. Therefore we have stopped employing anyone.

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We also have built homes for low-income people and don’t receive a high rent in return.

We are in our late 60s and do not expect to receive a pension but if this new law is passed we could easily lose all we have worked for since we migrated to Australia. We may be entitled to the pension after all!

I believe this is detrimental to Mum and Dad investors who have made so many sacrifices and worked honestly all their life. – Giuseppina Condina

IN ALL this kerfuffle, the Opposition and Greens Party are strangely silent, not offering constructive suggestions. Happy to sit back and receive their generous salaries. I would not be surprised if the Liberal Government approached the Federal Government seeking a bailout from their predicament. – Mike Lesiw 

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