The GAIC bill has been voted through the upper house and will now become law.

Dear Taxed Out member,

The GAIC Bill has now passed through the Upper House. The next step is for Planning Scheme Amendment VC67 to be passed in the Upper House. That is not a foregone conclusion with opposition parties indicating some elements of VC67 require amending.

Should Amendment VC67 be delayed in passing through the Upper House the GAIC legislation will not apply to landholders in the Investigation Areas. It is important to note those landholders will not be inside the UGB and therefore will not incur the GAIC Tax.

It does mean however that property owners currently inside the UGB will become subject to the $80,000 per hectare GAIC liability, with those owning more than 10 hectares, subject to the 30% upfront tax on sale.

It also means that developers who have acquired land in the investigation areas will be unable to develop property until the UGB moves.

The government will not get their GAIC revenue from the Investigation areas until Amendment VC67 is adopted and if coalition amendments are unacceptable to the government it may mean both the GAIC and VC67 become unworkable.

The only upside is that the GAIC will have been passed in a form that protects those selling land under 10 hectares which is far better than the original government proposal. While we resisted strongly to the coalition accepting the GAIC Bill the fact is it has now passed.

The current situation does not satisfy anyone but there is obviously still a great deal of uncertainty. For instance, Matthew Guy confirmed last night in Parliament that the coalition will introduce a GAIC where full payment is at the development stage, if elected. We have to remember that Taxed Out has been successful in changing government policy to the advantage of many of our members, because we have been united.

There is less than 7 months to the next election, so we have time to formulate our response to last night's decision, and decide what steps to take next. Please put your concerns to your committee representatives, so they know what you are thinking, and we will respond to the Government and the Opposition once we have your feedback.

South-east: Michael Hocking Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

North: Greg Heffernam Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

West: David Farrugia Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Regards

Michael Hocking - Chairman of Taxed Out

Dear Taxed Out members,

A meeting of Taxed Out representatives with government last week has confirmed the following:

- All landowners over 1 acre will have a Land Tax Notice registered on Title.

- The notice will indicate to a purchaser that your property may be liable for a GAIC tax when sold.

- If you own land under 10 hectares with a habitable dwelling there will be no upfront tax on sale with the full liability payable of either ($80,000 or $95,000 per hectare indexed), when the land is developed.

- If you own 5 hectares of vacant land there will be no upfront tax on sale with the full liability payable when the land is developed ($80,000 or $95,000 per hectare indexed).

- There are no guarantees that these thresholds will not be reduced in the future.

- If you own 1 square meter above the 10 hectare trigger you will pay a GAIC of which 30% is payable upfront. On 10 hectares that is calculated in the following way:
10.00001 x $95,000 =$950,000 of which 30% ($285,000) is payable on sale. The balance ($665,000 indexed) is payable when the land is developed.

Ted Baillieu has the power to defeat this legislation in the Upper House on the 25th of May. The Greens have stated they will oppose the legislation.

No other landowner in Australia pays an infrastructure tax yet the Liberal Party look set to give Brumby what he wants.

Make sure you tell them what you think.

Regards

Michael Hocking - Chairman of Taxed Out Inc.