Everyone knows we need to get rid of stamp duty: REINSW

Pointing to the federal government’s failure to address GST issues in the budget, Real Estate Institute of New South Wales president, Malcolm Gunning, said that “for some reason” the review of the taxation system is being avoided.

He said that everyone knows specific taxes needed to be removed, and that the sooner the government figures it out, the sooner the logistics can be decided.

“Everyone knows we need to get rid of our inefficient taxes, including stamp duty, land tax and payroll tax, and implement a broad based tax system,” said Gunning.

“Both state and federal government are sitting back and refusing to bring the issue to the table. Someone has to move first and last night’s budget was the right opportunity to acknowledge that something needs to be done.”

The current state-based tax system is inhibiting economic growth and must be overhauled, he said, explaining that industry and commerce compliance costs and the public servants administering this will be removed if the taxes are abolished – leading to savings that he believes justify the review.

“The federal budget focused too much on debt and the solving of the debt problem very quickly. Eliminating debt so swiftly could have an adverse effect on growth,” he said.