Victorians are poised to be slugged with the most property tax in the country this year and beyond, but NSW won’t be too far behind.
That’s the finding from a Victorian Parliamentary Budget Office report, which revealed the two states’ heavy reliance on property taxes.
Both states generate substantially more revenue per person through stamp duty and land tax than other Australian jurisdictions.
Victoria is expected to have made the second most total revenue from property taxes of all Australian jurisdictions behind NSW in 2022/23, according to the report by the independent budget office.
Total property tax revenue for both Victoria and NSW is projected to be broadly similar from 2023/24 and beyond.
But Victoria is expected to rake in the highest per capita property tax revenue of all the states until 2026/27, with its residents on average set to fork out $2120 per person in 2023/24.
Over the same period, NSW residents will pay $1646 in property taxes and Queenslanders will cough up $1343.
Victoria’s combined property tax revenue per person was expected to be about 21 per cent higher than in NSW in 2025/26.
“Victoria is expected to rely more heavily on property taxes to generate revenue than any other state,” reads the report, compiled at the request of the state opposition.
Pointing to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data on overall tax, the Victorian government said it remains the second-lowest revenue state in the country.
“The report also notes that these figures cherry-pick one tax type, and don’t show the whole picture,” a Victorian government spokesman said.
“Australian states have structurally different economies and different levels of reliance on revenue sources, and it does not consider revenue sources other than land transfer duty and land tax.”
Victoria’s land tax levy is temporary and equates to about $3.50 a day on average for Victorians who own a second home.
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto blamed the state’s high taxes on waste and mismanagement by the Andrews government.
Every extra dollar in property taxes puts more pressure on rents and property prices, he said.
“With Victoria’s rents already rising at the fastest rate in the nation, higher property taxes will only make a bad situation worse and push secure, affordable housing for many Victorians even further out of reach,” Mr Pesutto said.
The NSW Labor government recently axed a plan from the former coalition administration to begin weaning the state off stamp duty, which would have been partially replaced by an opt-in land tax scheme.
NSW is yet to release a state budget for 2023/24.
Source: AAP
