Page 2015 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 5 June 2018
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That decision came with a plan to return the budget to balance over time. Today, we have achieved that goal.
The 2018-19 Budget confirms a balanced fiscal position in the current fiscal year and in every year across the forward estimates. This means we are fully covering the cost of delivering services for Canberrans while building in a responsible buffer against future risks or shocks.
Madam Speaker, our work to support the Territory economy through tough times has paid off. Canberra has now seen a sustained period of very strong economic growth over the past few years.
This Budget estimates this year’s growth for our economy will be 4½ per cent—the fastest in Australia. This will bring our total economic growth since 2014-15 to a very strong 13.6 per cent.
This rapid economic growth drove the creation of almost 10,000 new jobs in 2017, the great majority of them full-time, secure jobs. There are 2,000 more businesses operating in Canberra today than there were three years ago. And our companies are doing more international business than ever before, with the ACT’s services exports rising by 22 per cent since 2015.
Canberra is seeing the benefits of economic growth where it really matters: in the creation of more good jobs and better opportunities for local businesses.
Our tax reform plan is also working to cut costs for homebuyers while providing a fairer and more stable revenue base from which to fund essential services for Canberrans.
We have cut residential duty rates in every budget since 2012, and we will continue to do so every year across the forward estimates. By 2021-22, someone buying a $500,000 home in Canberra will be paying half the amount of stamp duty they would have been up for when we started this reform—that is a saving of $10½ thousand.
We are also continuing to reform commercial conveyance duty. I am pleased to advise that from 1 July this year commercial property transactions worth $1.5 million or less will be abolished. This will mean about 70 per cent of commercial property purchases will no longer involve duty, a significant boost for small businesses and investment.
But we know there is still more we can do.
That is why we are abolishing stamp duty for eligible first homebuyers through this year’s Budget.
We understand that buying a home is a challenge for many, particularly young people and those on low incomes. Stamp duty can put another hurdle in front of these Canberrans by adding tens of thousands of dollars to the price of a home.
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