Valuation of Land and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2010

Mr Speaker, I rise to make a contribution to the Valuation of Land and Other Legalisation Amendment Bill 2010 which is obviously a blatant tax grab by Anna Bligh and her Labor Government. Under their stewardship Queensland went bust in a boom and this move will only serve to cost Queenslanders jobs.

I along with my colleagues call on the Government to throw out this ill-thought out, muddled legislation.  We will continue the immense pressure brought to bear by the Liberal National Party and the Property Council of Queensland, to ensure that this legislation is not supported. 

Nothing short of major amendments will suffice and one would hope that with enough pressure this legislation will not be successful and will lead to yet another monumental back-flip by this Government who are obviously cobbling together policy on the run with little regard for what will cause even further pressure on long suffering residents of Queensland who are already coping with a downgrade in our credit rating.

This morning we saw the Premier talking about the introduction of further legislation in September to tidy up the mess that they have made of this one.

I reiterate on behalf of the constituents of Mudgeeraba that this is a blatant tax grab by Anna Bligh and her Labor Government because Queensland went bust in a boom.

This move will cost Queenslanders jobs.

It will hit business, particularly small business due to the resulting increase in land tax. 

This will result in Queenslanders jobs being destroyed.

It will be devastating to business certainty in Queensland, and will reduce our state’s attractiveness as an investment destination.

This will result in Queenslanders jobs being destroyed.

Housing Affordability will yet again be hit as the cost for home-buyers will rise to reflect the increase in land tax, particularly in Greenfield sites. 

This will result in houses becoming even more out of reach for Queensland’s first home buyers.

In addition average Queenslanders will be hit through the impact on their superannuation funds, most of which include some form of land investments.

This will result in Queenslanders retirement funds disappearing.

The Bligh Government has been caught out breaking the law – twice – and is retrospectively changing the law to make this radical change to land tax legal.

In addition the Bligh Government is effectively removing most of Queenslanders rights to object and appeal decisions made regarding the value of their land.

The LNP will be opposing this opportunistic cash grab. 
We will be opposing the Bill, but accepting the amendments and not opposing the amended Bill.

As my colleague the Shadow Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy stated in his speech earlier:

“The amendments mean the changes will only apply for the next year and if a new bill is not introduced (foreshadowed for September) 2011 valuations will be assessed on the Legislation as is in effect now (i.e. before the commencement of the amended Bill before the house.

In essence the amendments;

• Change the retrospectivity of the Bill to validate previous valuations, with the exception of outstanding appeals that must be resolved by 30 June 2010. 
• The Bill applies the Government’s definition of unimproved value (with minor changes) subject to it being replaced with site value in the bill to be introduced in September.  This will allow the 2010 valuations to be released at the end of March (i.e. this month).
• The Bill has a sunset clause by the end of the next financial year – after which if a new Bill has not passed the current regime will be reactivated.
• Appeals and objections continue to be massively restricted.

There have been some other announcements including;

• The reinstatement of an independent valuer general
• A move to site value by September 2010.

In essence the following fundamental issues remain;

• The Government’s attempt to fundamentally change the definition of unimproved land in Queensland.
• The effective removal of objection and appeal rights, and
• The future of the land valuation system.

In essence the changes today allow the Government to save face regarding the poor Bill they introduced and to return to the consultation process to find a workable long term solution to land valuations in Queensland.”

This is an obvious tax on entrepreneurial efforts and nothing more than a great big new tax for Queenslanders.

In an advertisement in The Courier Mail on February 18, 2010 by the Property Council of Australia and I quote:

“A Great Big New Tax is already here in Queensland”

“There’s a sneaky new business tax being rushed through by the Bligh Government.

The biggest ever change to land taxation – and you probably don’t even know it happening.

But if you won commercial, industrial, retail, rural or residential investment property – this affects you.

You’ll not only be tacked on the value of your land – but also any extra value created by your hard work.

It’s called the valuation of Land and Other legislation Amendment Bill 20101.  And it’s retrospective!

Not much of an incentive for your hard work – is it?

It will affect every Queenslander.

Increasing land taxes and council rates.  Putting pressure on mortgages and rents.  Crippling small businesses, the rural sector and tourism owners and operators.  Torpedoing job-creating projects.  Shrinking the value of your superannuation.  Increasing prices of goods you buy.

We already have a very high rateable land values in Queensland, meaning we already pay much more land tax than most other States.

Now the more you improve your property, the more tax you will pay.  The more successful you are, the more you will be penalised.

If we do nothing this new tax will rob Queenslanders and their properties of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Investors will take their money, and the jobs they create, to other States.”

Further in a letter to my office dated 22 February 2010, the Property Council of Australia brought the following to my attention, which would horrify all ‘mum and dad’ investors in the electorate of Mudgeeraba and I quote:

“This is not just a ‘big business issue’, this will also have an impact on small business owners, who will be taxed for their efforts, and the harder they work the more land tax they will pay with increases in land tax expected of 20 to 40%.  It will also hit residential investors including ‘mum and dad’ investors who have been diligently investing for their retirement.  Those renting will also not be immune, with landowners passing on the increased cost of owning land through rental increases.”

Many residents and business owners in Mudgeeraba have contacted me over the last few weeks on this issue. 

Comments such as:

“Obviously we would not be happy with the proposed land tax calculation.  Land tax already has gone up $8500 (from $16,000 to $23,500) for Mudgeeraba property last year, they money grab is out of control.”

And

“I am appalled that yet another piece of oppressive, retrospective ill-considered legislation is being contemplated.  I own a property within the electorate of Mudgeeraba and have already been adversely affected by the Bligh Government’s amendments to the Land Tax Act passed in 2009.

The proposed new legislation is arrogant and offensive – having lost its appeal in the Courts, the Bligh Government now proposes a bizarre solution which is doubly offensive through incorporating a retrospective change in the law.

This proposed new law will adversely affect a vast number of landholders in Queensland and will tell the rest of Australia that Queensland is a bizarre place where the Bligh Government has no respect for normal commercial and legal principles, and no understanding for the usual processes of accounting and property valuation.  This inevitably worsens business uncertainty and is more akin to rule by decree and the ‘heads I win, tails you lose’ principal.”

And

“I am writing to express my absolute dismay that such a proposal could even be considered never mind implemented.  This is not only about Land Tax; this is about our whole economy and its destruction.  The Government is actually proposing a brand new tax on a mammoth scale, which the property industry cannot absorb and so it must be passed on.  Rents and prices must go up so the economy is on a new scale of costs at a critical point in recovery.  The outcome is not hard to predict.  This is a recipe for disaster and must be resisted at our peril.”

And finally from a resident in Bonogin;

“Until the GFC, we had a marginal but manageable financial position but over the last two years or so it has turned heavily against us and any negative impact – large increases in health insurance, car registration, council rates and electricity – will severely exacerbate our already tenuous finances.”

Mr Speaker, I would not be representing the ‘mum and dad’ investors in my electorate if I put my support behind this current ill-conceived, ill-though out, cobbled together, lack-lustre legislation, put together by a Minister who obviously does not get it and who will not even be present to see the passage of his own Bill through the House.

I cannot support this legislation and I call on this Labor Government to radically amend this legislation on behalf of my constituents in the electorate of Mudgeeraba.