Land Tax

The Hon. S.C. MULLIGHAN (Lee) (14:53): My question is to the Premier. How many landowners has the Premier met with to discuss their concerns about land tax aggregation changes?

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL (Dunstan—Premier) (14:53): I have met with plenty of people who have land in South Australia and are subject to paying land tax in South Australia. It's fair to say that the proposal that we took to this most recent state budget provides some relief for some landowners in South Australia.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Those opposite scoff, but my advice is that there would be around 8,000 people who are currently paying land tax in South Australia who will pay no land tax in South Australia going forward. What we do know is that the threshold in South Australia was unacceptably low under the previous government. We have sought to increase that. In fact, I think at the moment it's around 391,000, and will move to 450,000.

Of course, we have tried to also deal with the unacceptably high top marginal rate that is paid in South Australia, currently sitting at 3.7 per cent. That is what we inherited from the previous government. We have made it very clear that what we would like to do is to reduce that down, and I again provide the information to this parliament. If you look at the measures that were contained both in last year's budget and this year's budget and you combine them together, the changes that were made—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —there is a net reduction from those adjustments—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

Mr Brown interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Member for Playford, be quiet.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —that we have made and proposed of $9.7 million next financial year, and it increases every year thereafter.

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: That is what we have put forward.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: It is a net reduction from the changes that we have—

The Hon. S.C. Mullighan interjecting:

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: Well, you know, this is the problem. This is the guy who wants to be the Treasurer.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: There is an expression that comes to mind: bad to worse. Bad to worse, that's what we would have. He doesn't understand how the finances operate. It's a disgrace.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Point of order.

The SPEAKER: Can the Premier please be seated. The point of order from the Father of the House is for debate?

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: Yes, sir.

The SPEAKER: And he has a fair point. I am listening to the member for West Torrens. I ask the Premier to come back to the substance of the question.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: I am asking the members on my left to be quiet.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: I will not respond to interjections, sir, because they are disorderly. Of course, what we do know is that when you take the effects of the threshold change and of the—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —top marginal rate changes that we have outlined both in last year's budget and this year's budget, the combination of those two sets of changes leads to a net reduction in land tax.

Now, the shadow treasurer says, 'Oh, but there's a projection for an increase.’ Well, there is another thing that comes into effect, and that is property value increases in South Australia. The long-term average increase has been 3 per cent. You've got to take that into account as well, of course, but what I am saying unequivocally, and I hope that the member for Lee can understand it, and I will try to say it as slowly as possible, sir—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —but the net impact of the changes to the threshold and the aggregation and the top marginal rate that we are proposing is a net reduction—not an increase, but a net reduction. We have made—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —it very clear—

The Hon. A. Koutsantonis interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The member for West Torrens is warned for a second and final time.

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —to the people of South Australia that we are a low-taxing government on this side. We are trying to fix up—

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Leader!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —the mess that those opposite made with South Australia being a very unattractive place in which to invest. From opposition we blocked their car park tax, we blocked their big massive bank tax in South Australia, and since coming—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —to government, we are very proud on this side of the house to halve the emergency services levy—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order!

The Hon. S.S. MARSHALL: —take the axe to payroll tax, continue to drive down stamp duty in South Australia, and now we are fixing the threshold and the top marginal rate with regard to land tax.

Mr Malinauskas interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The Leader of the Opposition is warned for a second and final time. The member for Lee.