Coronavirus: Land tax relief

16 April 2020

The Victorian Government has announced land tax relief measures, providing eligible landlords with a 25 percent reduction on their property’s 2020 land tax.

Part of a $500 million package aimed at residential and commercial tenants and landlords, if a landlord offers COVID-19 impacted tenants rent relief, they may be eligible for the land tax discount – in addition to being able to defer their 2020 land tax to 31 March 2021.

While the automotive industry has welcomed the announcement, it views the move as simply a step in the right direction for rent relief initiatives. VACC notes that some landlords will not have access, with properties rented to a tenant with an annual turnover of over $50 million uncatered for. To be eligible the property must be rented to a tenant with an annual turnover of up to $50 million and additionally, the tenant must be eligible for the JobKeeper Payment. Subsequently, 70 percent of automotive dealers miss out.

The Stage 3 restrictions, designed to help slow the spread of Coronavirus, have had widespread economic consequences for large, as well as small and medium-sized businesses, and the Chamber is calling on Treasurer Tim Pallas, the Department of Treasury and Finance and the State Revenue Office to continue to support Victorian businesses and revise the threshold on this relief measure.