Review of small-minded tax on foreign capital in QLD welcomed

REVIEWING Queensland’s prohibitive tax on foreign capital is a crucial first step to unlocking investment in Queensland.

That’s the view of the Property Council, which repeated its claims that the sunshine state had missed out on 33,000 properties since 2016.

The move was announced as part of the Queensland state government budget.

Under the current regime Australian-based developers are ‘unfairly taxed for utilising offshore capital, through Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty and Foreign Land Tax Surcharge’, according to the peak industry body.

It says these taxes are short-sighted and small-minded and have been responsible for deterring the critical patient capital Queensland needs. 

“The commitment to review Queensland’s ex-gratia relief guidelines is an essential step in unlocking growth,” said Property Council Queensland Executive Director Jess Caire.

“As it stands, they are not fit for purpose, offer little certainty up front and are counterintuitive to the government’s housing and investment targets.

“The decision to undertake this review in partnership with industry recognises the pivotal role we play in shaping reforms that reflect the realities of project delivery and investment decisions.

Former conveyancer Ms Caire cited Property Council research conducted last year, which quantified the number of homes and jobs lost as a direct result of Queensland’s tax settings.

“Our Time for a fair go report revealed that since the regime had been introduced in 2016, Queensland had missed out on 33,000 houses, while dwellings delivered through foreign investment collapsed by 84.7 per cent,” Ms Caire said.

“In addition to putting a roof over the head of Queensland families, those houses would have generated up to 38,500 Queensland jobs and almost $100 million in extra revenue through stamp duties, land tax and payroll tax.

“This is staggering and reinforces the need for the review to regain our competitive advantage.

“As we compete on the global stage for capital, we need to ensure these developers, who build houses, retirement living villages, apartments, purpose built student accommodation, townhouses, are welcomed into Queensland with policy settings that can turn these homes into a reality.

“A commitment to review these guidelines with industry, sends a strong message to interstate and overseas capital that Queensland is serious about being open for business.

“In today’s competitive environment, aligning policy settings with the narrative is essential to proving we can genuinely walk the talk.”