Page 1399 - Week 05 - Wednesday, 12 May 2021
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general. The bill will allow the minister to determine an alternative time period for property owners to lodge objections for valuations, consequential to actions to improve transparency evaluation processes. Finally, the bill will amend the Taxation Administration Act to include land rent charges under honest purchaser liability protections where a certificate of tax and other charges is provided to a purchaser.
The bill will improve the operation of debt recovery provisions relating to charges over lands and tax debts by clarifying the separate operation of certain provisions and confirming the creation of a statutory charge on other land.
Finally, for the purposes of the Tax Administration Act, the bill will facilitate permitted disclosures under secrecy provisions for entities to uphold the integrity of the tax system and to uphold the integrity of law enforcement.
I support the many rectifications and clarifications in this bill.
MS VASSAROTTI (Kurrajong—Minister for the Environment, Minister for Heritage, Minister for Homelessness and Housing Services and Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction) (4.28): I rise to speak in support of the Revenue Legislation Amendment Bill, particularly the provisions that extend previous government actions to provide a land tax exemption for affordable housing. The bill aims to extend the scheme by removing the time limit for this exemption. I note that, in doing so, the cap on the number of properties has already been increased from 125 to 250.
I would like to acknowledge the work of Ms Caroline Le Couteur in the Ninth Assembly. She brought this idea to the Assembly. Her original motion called for an exemption of the land tax to be provided for residential property investors who rent their property to low- and moderate-income households at a discount to market rent through a not-for-profit community housing provider. This led to the introduction of a pilot scheme that has now been extended.
This proposal comes at a time of increased concern about housing affordability in Canberra. It is an issue that has only increased in urgency over time.
The CoreLogic rental review for the March 2021 quarter showed that Canberra is the most expensive rental market in Australia for both houses and units, with median rental prices sitting at $600 per week for houses and $500 per week for units. The annual rental affordability snapshot released by Anglicare late last month found that there was a distressing lack of affordable housing rental options.
Government plays a key role in responding to the affordability issue. While we are disappointed that the federal government has again decided not to invest in much-needed social housing, we remain committed to doing all that we can to ensure access to housing for all Canberrans.
It is recognised that this issue needs a range of responses. This scheme is one of the ways that a broader response can be undertaken. It recognises that there are members in our community who wish to respond directly and have the means to do so. By
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