The process of reforming the State's revenue sources for
fire and emergency services offers the opportunity for
meaningful tax reform, according to the Property Council of
Australia.
Release of a Discussion Paper by the NSW Government today
signals a shift away from the traditional reliance on an
insurance-based levy.
"The property sector recognises the inefficiency of taxing
a pool of contributors that is limited by the amount of
people electing to take out insurance," NSW Executive
Director, Glenn Byres, said today.
"The natural response lies in a new scheme that is truly
broad-based, apportioned according to risk and lowers costs
for existing contributors.
"Large commercial asset owners - including office, retail
and industrial property - invest heavily in fire mitigation
and suppression systems.
"This needs to be recognised in attributing costs in any
new system and all users of fire and emergency services
need to contribute.
"We hope good tax design principles inform the debate and
ultimate policy solution."
The Property Council of Australia recommends a model that
is built around a key set of principles, including:
-
All property that use fire and emergency services
should be captured, including all 'fixed' property as
well as passenger and heavy vehicles;
-
Costs should be apportioned according to risk (or
historical incident rates);
-
Current contributions must not increase in real terms;
-
Like land tax and council rates, unimproved values
underpin any levy;
-
The total tax take should only ever rise by CPI and not
be fuelled by windfall gains due to land valuation
rises.
"The prospect of meaningful tax reform is encouraging and
we hope it signals a broader appetite for more efficient
taxation in NSW," Mr Byres said.
Media contact: Glenn Byres, NSW Executive Director, 0419
695 435.
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