August 15, 2018 New McGowan tax will hit WA home values The West Australian Liberal Opposition will vote against the McGowan Government’s attempt to add a further tax burden on the West Australian property market. Shadow Treasurer Dean Nalder said the fragile WA property market could not afford another McGowan Government policy that would reduce the market value of homes. “A record number of WA homeowners currently have negative equity in their homes and the McGowan Government wants to impose a tax that has been proven in the Eastern States to put the brakes on the housing market and force housing prices down,” Mr Nalder said. “This is base politics by the Treasurer who is appealing to xenophobic sentiment by telling people foreigners are getting away without paying their fair share of taxes. “Foreign buyers pay the same taxes as West Australians, they are not ‘getting away’ with anything.” Mr Nalder said the most misleading aspect of the McGowan Government’s rhetoric on the tax was that it was to help budget repair. “This tax has nothing to do with budget repair and everything to do with raising money to pay for unaffordable and unfunded election promises,” Mr Nalder said. “Education, roads, health, police and our prisons system have all had to suffer because this Government made grandiose promises they could not afford. “Now the Treasurer wants to raise money from foreign buyers with no regard to the knock-on effect that will have on WA homeowners “This is another broken election pledge from Mark McGowan, 4 per cent is not 7 per cent, he does not have a mandate for this tax that will restrict investment in the WA economy.” Ends |
