LOCAL business owners have spoken out against the State Government’s land tax reforms, with Member for Light Tony Piccolo raising their concerns in State Parliament last week.

The State Government’s controversial reforms passed their first hurdle last week, when it passed State Parliament’s Lower House, despite Labor pushing for amendments to the bill.

The reforms will see all property owners with investments named in financial trusts have the values of their properties aggregated together and taxed accordingly.

Currently, trusts are considered separate entities, and each trust is taxed individually.

Eagle Foundry Bed and Breakfast owner Gary Iremonger owns nine properties throughout Gawler, some in his name and some in other trusts.

He said aggregating all his properties together would increase his land tax contribution from $2000 to around $31,000.

“For a small business like us, it is just financially unviable to pay $30,000 each year on land tax,” he said.

“We employ a gardener and three cleaners, if we have to start selling our properties, it’s going to become unviable for those people to keep working for us.

“I don’t think it’s a well thought out plan.”

The reforms have received backlash from traditional Liberal Party supporters, such as the Australian Property Council, with some Liberal backbenchers voicing their concerns over how the  legislation could affect the party.

During debate in parliament last Wednesday, Mr Piccolo, speaking in opposition to the reforms, said it would affect local businesses and jobs.

“The primary reason for opposing the Marshall Liberal government’s proposed changes is that they will have a negative impact on jobs,” he said.

“Scores of small businesses have told me that these land tax hikes will have a devastating impact on their bottom line, which will inevitably cost jobs and limit their ability to create new jobs in the
future.

“This would compound South Australia’s unemployment problem at a time when the jobless rate has increased from 5.6 per cent to 6.3 per cent since the election.”

The bill will now be debated in the Legislative Council, where independent members have indicated they will oppose it.

Also in parliament last Wednesday, premier Steven Marshall defended the the reforms, saying South Australia has the “worst land tax regime in the nation”.

“Those opposite want to entrench the worst land tax system in the country—3.7 per cent—and they are defending it,” he said.

“We are driving capital out of this state because capital flows to where the most attractive environment exists.

“That is a fundamental of economics, and at the moment, with an annual land tax rate of 3.7 per cent we are driving capital out of this state into other jurisdictions that have very obviously lower land tax rates than we have in South Australia.”