‘Too little, too late’: Victoria’s land tax revenue falls $1bn short amid exodus

Victorian land tax returns from a special Covid debt levy were on track for amore than $1bn shortfall before the Carroll government announced they would be revised. Victoria’s Covid Debt Levy land tax scheme was on track to come up almost $1bn short of forward estimates within its first four years, before being clipped on the weekend. Real estate industry groups and experts have warned the shortfall has emerged as a result of a landlord exodus they fear will take a significant amount of time to reverse, and will require much more than the Carroll government’s pledge to increase the threshold back to $300,000 if re-elected. In 2024 the threshold for land tax was lowered to secondary homes worth $50,000 or more as part of an effort to recoup Covid-era debts. RELATED: Cheap Melbourne rentals vanish amid unit investor sell-off Victorian Premier promises phased land tax relief funded by delayed level crossing removals Investor exodus from Victoria resumes after federal budget On Sunday the Premier announced that a re-elected Labor government would raise that threshold by $25,000 a year each year until it returned to $300,000, which it had been before the changes, by 2034. The Coalition ...