Page 3814 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014
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own an investment property, the land tax component is more expensive than the rates. That is plain and simply a tax grab. To own an investment property you are paying more in land tax than you are in rates.
Mr Barr: It is all deductible.
MR WALL: The Treasurer interjects and says that it is all deductible. We danced this merry dance in estimates, and he basically said this is a quid pro quo with the commonwealth for some of the taxation changes that they have made, passing the buck back up to the commonwealth, which is done all too often.
Another area where it is prohibitively expensive in the ACT is child care. If you want to move here and you have a young family and are relying on child care, again you are paying some of the dearest charges in the country—in excess of $100 a day—to access child care. I remember that Ms Lawder in a previous debate said that it is all well and good talking about the quality of something like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, but if you can only afford a Commodore there is really no point. That really goes to the crux of living in Canberra: it can be the best city in the world to live in, but if you cannot afford to live here it really defeats the purpose.
But to get to the motion at hand and what it is talking about, ultimately what it boils down to is confidence, the confidence of families to invest, the confidence of business to invest, the confidence that all of us have when we are out in our day-to-day rounds to spend our money or whether we are feeling a little pessimistic about the future and decide to save. The chamber of commerce last year, 2013—and this was prior to the federal election—did a survey of around 125 small businesses in the territory. Even prior to the change in government at the commonwealth level, confidence was one of the number one concerns that business raised. Wages and the cost of employing staff were included in that. The state of the states report touches on the confidence issue we are experiencing here in the ACT.
On wages and prices, the ACT is the only jurisdiction which had a higher increase in wage growth than it did in the consumer price index. Wages grew by 2.3 per cent; consumer prices grew by 2.2 per cent. In real terms there was a 0.1 per cent increase in wages. On the surface, that sounds like a great thing and sounds like something that should be applauded, but, when you boil it down, the economy is still struggling to get started. It is not motivated. People have, in real terms, got more money in their pockets now than they had a quarter ago, three months ago, yet they are still not feeling confident to spend.
We are talking about being proactive here and having a positive discussion, but often it is hard to have a discussion that is positive and builds the economy. It is difficult to have a constructive debate on the issues that need to be addressed without highlighting where they are failing.
I have already touched on taxation. I think a competitive tax base is something that is essential. You have got rates, land tax and other anti-investment fees. You have got commence and complete fees. I think commence and complete fees are something that is really discouraging investment in this city. I have had experience within my own
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