Annual homeowner tax of $1,200 an option in SA Government's overhaul of state's tax system

Updated

Homeowners could face a broad-based land tax of about $1,200 a year in return for abolishing stamp duty under a review of the South Australian tax system.

The SA Government released a discussion paper looking at ways to change the way South Australians were taxed.

The State Government released the paper as a summary of the state's current tax system and tax reform options that have been suggested in the past.

Another idea put forward by the Government was an overhaul of payroll tax, which would see thresholds and rates reduced or abolished.

Premier Jay Weatherill said the ideas do not reflect the Government's intention in relation to tax reform, but could help people with public submissions on the changes.

"The State Government is open to radical reform to our state taxation system," he said.

"Nothing is out of bounds, be it taxes, levies or concessions.

"Our state taxation system offers the means to provide high-quality services that the South Australian community values and that make our state a great place to live and raise a family.

"But our state taxation system must also assist investment, create new opportunities and encourage business owners to employ more South Australians."

Liberals opposed to land tax

Opposition leader Steven Marshall said he did not support the idea of a land based tax on households.

"We will always advocate for cutting out waste and inefficiency in the State Government before pinching households in South Australia," he said.

"We will not, I absolutely repeat, we will not support Jay Weatherill's plan to put a $1,200 hit on the average family in South Australia."

But Robert Harding from the Housing Industry Association said the proposal could create a more efficient system and improve housing affordability.

"Any examination of taxation regime will have the effect of lowering the cost of the housing, so that people are more able to get in to the housing market, particularly those who are first home buyers," he said.

The South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) said any tax system change needed to benefit the wider community, not just the business sector.

SACOSS senior policy officer Greg Ogle said fairness needed to be the priority.

"We want to make sure that community voices and the interests of vulnerable and disadvantaged people are actually reflected in the debate, and not just the business end of town and not just those who are able to muster the PR resources to dominate the debate," he said.

Business SA chief executive Nigel McBride said imposing a broad-based land tax would be a way to encourage economic growth.

"This is something that at least we can support in the interim to see if we can get the very best out of a bad system, which is the State Government having to tax areas of the economy to pay the bills," he said.

Tax reform was one key area outlined yesterday during the opening of the state parliamentary year.

Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis will meet with business, industry and advocacy groups, as well as community representatives in regional areas over the coming months to discuss the review.

The Government is calling for public submissions on the paper by April 10.

Topics: tax, government-and-politics, state-parliament, parliament, states-and-territories, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

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