Land tax stress hits Venus Bay

VENUS Bay’s reliance on the holiday rental market and tourism in general means the recent Victorian Government additional land tax imposition on those with more than one property has triggered serious concern, with the town’s Alex Scott & Staff team fielding numerous questions and experiencing heightened anxiety from many clients.

Those who pay land tax will attract what the Victorian Government claims is a temporary additional fixed charge from 1 January 2024, starting at $500 for landholdings between $50,000 and $100,000. 

There will be a $975 fixed charge for landholdings above $100,000 and the tax rates will increase by 0.1% for both general and trust taxpayers with holdings above $300,000 and $250,000 respectively, with that increase again labelled temporary by the State Government.

The Government estimates these changes will raise $4.7 billion over four years to repay Covid debt.

Overall, it indicates the additional charges for those paying land tax are expected to apply until 30 June 2033. 

“There’s a lot of angst,” Dan Lawrie, director of Alex Scott & Staff Venus Bay said, explaining the agency is often the first point of contact for those worried about dealing with additional costs. 

He stressed that many of those who put their Venus Bay properties on the short-term rental market are hardworking young families who are putting in long hours, often paying off mortgages on their property in the tourist hamlet as well as one in Melbourne.

Many now rent their holiday properties out in peak tourist season helping meet their mortgage repayments, spending valuable family time at those properties during other periods of the year.

Paying off loans is already challenging for many due to rising interest rates and increased costs of living.

Liberal Member for Nepean, Sam Groth, has expressed concern that the Victorian Government hasn’t ruled out implementing more taxes on the holiday industry.

Imposing a ‘tourist tax’ or empowering local councils to impose higher commercial rates are measures reportedly being considered.

Such possibilities combined with the land tax grab in the recent State Budget, and other financial pressures on those with Venus Bay holiday properties, has real estate agent Dan worried about the impact on the town.

He noted that little over a decade ago shops and other businesses in the Venus Bay area weren’t open seven days a week and often opened for only part of the day, and that there was no pharmacy or large supermarket such as the IGA now operating in Tarwin Lower.

“These are all products of the holiday rental trade,” Dan said of the positive changes.

He added tourism creates services and jobs for permanent residents of Venus Bay and Tarwin Lower.

“Tourism is what keeps us alive, so if that was going to be (adversely) affected then it would be extremely detrimental to the survival of our towns,” Dan said. 

Many holiday home owners in the region are seniors, with rising property values often jeopardising pensions, potentially putting them under pressure to sell, and the land tax change has added to their stress.

“People are really hurting,” Dan said.

Like staff in other customer service businesses, those at Alex Scott & Staff often cop the brunt of increased anxiety.

“We get bucketloads of it,” Dan said, adding that as a first point of contact the business’ staff often provide a “sounding board”.

He made it clear those at Alex Scott & Staff are doing all they can to assist people dealing with added pressures.

“If we can help these people, we’re up for the challenge,” Dan said.