The government had proposed to tax interstate investors who owned property in Queensland and other states.
The stumbling block? Identifying interstate landholdings. It seems the ‘honesty box’ system of asking investors to self-disclose landholdings was not foolproof enough to proceed.
So, who wins and who loses from this reversal?
Land tax can be a good thing… hear us out… Governments need money, and land tax – done well – can be an equitable way of sourcing these funds. If you love economics, take a look at the land tax solution proposed by ex-Brissie property guru, Michael Matusik.
But the immediate winners are of course the investors who just dodged a tax time bullet and the renters who rely on investors pumping rental homes into the Queensland market.
InvestorKit founder Arjun Paliwal reflected the sentiments of many commentators when he told realestate.com.au: “Removal of this poorly planned policy will no doubt clear the confused minds of many and as a result we are now expecting thousands of mum and dad investors to be open to Queensland investing once again.
“Had this policy proceeded, investors would have continued an exit at rapid speeds and we would have seen the total rental pool continue to shrink. Rents would have then continued their substantial increases.
“This is great news for Queensland renters and also mum and dad property investors, in an already tight rental market this would have taken away many more rental properties had it gone ahead.”
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