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The Property Council has prepared a
report of industry-positive policies and challenged the New South Wales Government to adopt them in the upcoming budget release.
The policies were submitted to the Treasurer as a part of a pre-budget submission, designed for what the Property Council believed would be a positive change across Sydney and the regions focused on reducing costs for the community, building better cities and infrastructure and reducing red tape.
“This is an important budget for this Government, coming in the second half of their term it will define and drive policy in the lead up to the next election," Property Council NSW Deputy Executive Director Cheryl Thomas said.
"The Property Council has put forward policies that build on our Five Point Plan for Solving Housing Affordability in NSW and provide the NSW Government with policies that will work and will have immediate benefits for NSW.”
Ms Thomas said the policies cover tax reform, cuts to stamp duty, a fully funded City Deal, the scrapping of ineffective levies and further investment in our Hunter and Illawarra regions.
“Housing affordability is this Government’s number one priority and the Property Council has provided the Government with the information needed to implement real solutions – yet building great cities, ensuring Sydney’s west and the State’s regions get their fair share and erasing ineffective taxes are also crucial elements that must be a part of the upcoming budget," she said.
“The budget should be premised on a ‘do no harm’ principle and include proactive measures to address both supply and demand side pressures.
“Stamp duty must be reformed as a part of wider tax reform – the community must be given some relief from this ineffective tax.
"Demand side policies must be matched with supply side initiatives to streamline planning and reduce costs to ensure we do not add any further heat to the market,” Ms Thomas said.
“This budget must embrace forward thinking and progressive approaches to addressing the challenges of growth, we must work together to build great places, great cities, and more homes.
“If the Government enacts these polices in the lead up to the next election, NSW will have a stronger foundation from which to meet the demands of a growing population.”
Property Council policies
Stamp duty should be abolished as part of a genuine federal/state tax reform plan.
Stamp duty reform should be part of the NSW Government’s housing affordability plan as a targeted demand side measure.
The NSW Government should remove the specific foreign investment surcharges (land tax as well as stamp duty) introduced in the 2016 budget from those companies adding to housing supply.
The Office of State Revenue (OSR) should reinforce the original principles of s10AA of the Land Tax Management Act (1956) supporting the ‘dominant use’ test via clear and consistent rules.
The Parking Space Levy is not meeting its objectives and should be abolished.
The state budget should not increase the cumulative tax burden placed on the property industry through new value capture mechanisms.
The unimproved value of a property should be retained to underpin the Local Government rates system.
The NSW Government should adopt the recommendations in the Property Council submission entitled Fixing Housing Affordability in NSW.
New supply of housing should be prioritised for tax relief in the NSW budget to directly impact the costs of delivering new housing across the State.
That a Western Sydney City Deal is delivered that integrates key outcomes, timeframes and future funding linked to performance, be fully funded in the 2017 – 2018 budget.
Following the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal releasing an assessment of the s94 infrastructure contributions plan for West Dapto, costs over the $30,000 cap should be covered by the Local Infrastructure Grants Scheme.
The NSW Government should commit $13 million towards the joint state/federal funding required to complete stage 1 of the Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange.
Construction of Newcastle Light Rail Stage 2 along Corridor A – Wickham to Broadmeadow should be funded.
Commit $12.6 million for local infrastructure projects in the stage two Thornton North Urban Release Area (URA) to accelerate the supply of 2,500 new residential lots.
