The Victorian Budget 2023 has been labelled by Treasurer Tim Pallas as his most difficult, with the budget bottom line, big business and property owners all taking a hit.
Winners:
- Big Business:
A new COVID debt levy will apply to companies with a payroll greater than $10 million, which is projected to bring in $3.874 billion in revenue over four years.
Businesses with a national payroll of more than $10 million will pay an additional payroll tax of 0.5 per cent, or 1 per cent if their national payroll exceeds $100 million.
- Property Owners:
The tax-free threshold for land tax is being lowered from $300,000 to $50,000. It will not affect the family home.
But the government estimates the owners of about 380,000 properties will now pay land tax where previously they would not have.
The government estimates there will be an estimated additional cost of $1,300 a year for home owners hit by the land tax changes.
Holiday home owners will also be hit with more tax, as the absentee owner surcharge — known as the vacancy tax — will increase from 2 percent to 4 percent.
- Public service workers:
Major job cuts are on the way for the public sector, which is set to lose between 3,000 and 4,000 workers.
But Mr Pallas suggested the number of workers in parts of the public service, such as frontline health, was expected to increase.
Winners:
- Health:
The government has begun the first tranche of funding for its $320 million hospital infrastructure plan, which it promised ahead of last year’s election.
It has allocated $78.5 million towards projects such as a new hospital in West Gippsland, a new Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Melbourne’s East, hospital plans for Melbourne’s north and south-east, and a redevelopment of Wonthaggi hospital.
- Flood recovery:
The budget includes an extra $677 million for ongoing flood recovery, on top of $1.8 billion promised last year.
Source: ABC News.
