State Taxation Acts Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill 2020

Published on 24 April 2020

The State Taxation Acts Amendment (Relief Measures) Bill was introduced into and passed by State Parliament yesterday, 23 April 2020.

It amends the Duties Act 2000, First Home Owner Grant Act 2000, Payroll Tax Act 2007  and Taxation Administration Act 1997. 

Primarily, it legislates the tax relief measures, announced by the Victorian Government in January 2020,  for people affected by the Victorian bushfires. These are:

• A 50% land transfer duty concession on transfers entered into on or after 27 January 2020 for the acquisition of commercial or industrial property in bushfire affected local government and alpine resort areas.  
• A payroll tax rate reduction to 1.2125% from 1 July 2019 for regional employers based in bushfire affected local government and alpine resort areas. 

The Bill also:

• Extends the availability of the regional First Home Owner Grant (FHOG), which was due to end on 30 June 2020, by 12 months. It is now available for contracts entered into between 1 July 2017 and 30 June 2021.
• Amends the Taxation Administration Act 1997  to enable the Commissioner of State Revenue to give effect to emergency tax relief measures at the direction of the Treasurer, and as announced by the State Government. These include the ability to defer, waive or refund a tax liability under a taxation law in full or in part. The new powers apply to all emergency tax relief measures announced before and after the commencement of the provisions, and include the tax relief measures announced by the State Government in relation to the coronavirus pandemic on 16 March 2020 and 15 April 2020.

This Bill only becomes law once it receives  Royal Assent, which is likely to be Tuesday 28 April 2020. When this occurs we will provide more details about the legislation.