State Member for Ovens Valley Tim McCurdy welcomed the news that the bush block has been made exempt from land tax.
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The Victorian Government has bowed to community pressure to lift its tax on a bush block in Katamatite.
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Correspondence seen by The Courier appears to confirm that the State Revenue Office has found a block of land, owned by pensioners Ruth Hackett and Larry Roney, exempt from land tax under state legislation.
Ms Hackett said she and her partner were rapt with the outcome.
“We are really grateful to the media, to [state Member for Ovens Valley] Tim McCurdy, and glad [the State Revenue Office] made an exemption,” Ms Hackett said.
“I just feel sorry for the other people who are in a similar position and haven’t had the exposure we’ve had.”
Last week, The Courier reported that Ms Hackett and her partner, Mr Roney, were made to pay land tax on a bush block for the first time since they bought it in 2003 for $3000.
Valued last year at $61,500 and, after Ms Hackett and Mr Roney objected, at $51,500, the two-acre block adjoins their home and becomes waterlogged with the slightest rain.
Larry Roney and Ruth Hackett were in disbelief after they realised they had to pay land tax on their bush block for the first time.
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Owen Sinclair
Mr McCurdy said he was very pleased for Ms Hackett and Mr Roney.
“I always suspected this was wrong from the beginning and a cash grab by the Victorian Government,” Mr McCurdy said.
“Standing up to Jacinta Allan is what all Victorians need to do to stop the many unjust taxes coming our way.
“The next step is to scrap the emergency tax that will arrive with local rate notices. I will fight for the people of the Ovens Valley to be treated fairly by a city-centric government.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the SRO said it was unable to comment on individual taxpayer matters.
Under Section 54 of the Land Tax Act 2005, land is considered exempt from tax under a range of conditions, including if it is contiguous to principal place of residence land, does not contain a separate residence and is used for the private benefit of the owner of the PPR.
Other conditions apply, including that the land enhances the PPR land and that both the land and the PPR are wholly in regional Victoria.
A spokesperson for the government said land tax did not apply to the family home or renters or primary production land.
“The Valuer-General oversees valuations for Victorian Government property transactions and rating valuations. This includes valuations for all council rates and land tax assessments,” the spokesperson said.
“Since 2014 we have cut or abolished taxes and fees more than 57 times and increased the statewide payroll tax-free threshold several times.”
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