The state government of Tasmania has laid out new land tax arrangements to help ease cost-of-living pressures for households.
Under the changes, land tax thresholds will be increased, with the land value at which land tax becomes payable increasing from $25,000 to $50,000. The top threshold will also increase by $50,000, from $350,000 to $400,000.
Furthermore, the premium penalty rate of interest will be lowered from 8% to 4%. Land tax bills of over $500 can now be paid in three instalments over the year.
Premier Peter Gutwein said these new arrangements will ease the financial burden on Tasmanian families and will put downward pressure on rents.
"While land tax in Tasmania is the lowest, along with Western Australia, of all the states as a share of total state revenue, there remains a need to bring land tax thresholds into the era we live in today. This will modernise our arrangements while giving Tasmanians more money in their pockets," Gutwein said.
With the changes, around 70,000 landowners will be able to save up to $613 a year, and 4,100 additional landowners to pay no land tax at all in the year ahead.
Finance Minister Michael Ferguson said the changes complement the significant support to tenants and landlords amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“These changes will mean more money in the pockets of many Tasmanian land owners, meaning more money to spend in local businesses," he said. "These new arrangements will also ease the need for increases in rental prices, with our strong expectation that landlords seek to pass on these savings to tenants next year."
