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Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick announced a review to look at adjusting the state’s property tax settings to increase supply.
With a state election slated to take place on 26 October, however, Dick noted that the reassessment would have to hold off until residents had cast their ballots.
Long advocated for by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) – having participated in the 2022 Queensland Housing Summit that recommended a reevaluation of the state’s tax settings – the industry representative body expressed “cautious support” of the move, noting some reservations.
“It’s promising that the goal of increasing housing supply has been identified as the focus of this review into state-based taxes and charges for the housing market,” said REIQ CEO, Antonia Mercorella.
“However, we know that ambiguous announcements such as these can rattle the confidence of the investment community and destabilise the property market. Moreover, it can have an impact on the commercial property sector which flows on to employment opportunities for the Queensland community,” she commented.
Ahead of the review, the institute is calling for the body to make a precommitment not to introduce any new or increased taxes to property owners as a result of the process.
“The property market thrives on stability and predictability, so this assurance of no new property taxes would go a long way to help restore investor confidence in the interim,” Mercorella said.
The Queensland arm of the Property Council of Australia (PCA) echoed REIQ’s sentiments, with PCA’s Queensland executive director, Jess Caire, stating that it would be “critical that industry and government work together to ensure the review doesn’t result in any unintended consequences”.
“As with any review, the devil will be in the detail,” she said.
“What we don’t want to see is increased taxes across other property sectors or any new taxes levied on the industry”.
PCA also recently proposed a review of the state’s tax settings in a report on Queensland’s housing sector released at the end of June, which called for urgent action on the issue of supply.
“There has never been a more important time to work together and push for meaningful reform that resuscitates our ailing housing supply and adopts a ‘do no harm’ approach to industry and Queenslanders,” Caire said.
Both organisations called for the review to be conducted independently to ensure its objectivity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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