Changes to state taxes December 2023
The State Taxation Acts and Other Acts Amendment Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 12 December 2023.
The Act introduced several changes to Victoria’s taxation laws, including:
- expansion of vacant residential land tax (VRLT) to all vacant residential land in Victoria from the 2025 tax year, subject to applicable exemptions
- a new progressive rate of VRLT from the 2025 tax year to non-exempt vacant residential land based on the number of tax years the land has been liable for VRLT
- expansion of the definition of vacant residential land from the 2026 tax year to include unimproved residential land that has been unimproved for 5 years or more in established areas of metropolitan Melbourne, subject to exemptions
- prohibition of land tax apportionment between a vendor and purchaser under a contract of sale of land from January 2024, except for high-value property transactions
- prohibition of windfall gains tax from being passed on to a purchaser under a contract or option agreement entered into once a windfall gains tax liability has been assessed, from January 2024
- change to the frequency of some reporting requirements, including foreign purchaser additional duty exemption reporting and absentee owner surcharge exemption reporting (from 6 months to 12 months).
Find out more about the changes.
Changes to state taxes June 2023
The State Taxation Acts Amendment Act 2023 received Royal Assent on 27 June 2023.
This Act introduced measures announced in the 2023–24 Victorian Budget, including:
- a new duty exemption for a transfer of land from an immediate family member to a person with a disability
- an increase to the property value thresholds for pensioner and concession cardholder duty exemption and concession
- a temporary land tax surcharge from the 2024 land tax year
- an increase to the absentee owner surcharge rate from 2% to 4%
- a temporary payroll tax surcharge to employers who pay Australia-wide wages of $10 million or more.
The State Taxation Acts Amendment Act 2023 also made amendments to various state taxation acts.
Find out more about these changes.
Gambling Taxation Act 2023
The Gambling Taxation Act 2023 (the Act) received Royal Assent on 6 June 2023. It imposes various gambling taxes administered by the Commissioner of State Revenue (Commissioner) from 1 July 2023.
Casino tax
The Act implements new arrangements for casino taxes payable by the Victorian casino operator. It transfers responsibility for casino taxation from the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission (VGCCC) to the Commissioner and the State Revenue Office.
These arrangements were the Government’s response to a recommendation of the Victorian Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence that the Taxation Administration Act 1997 (TAA) be extended to cover casino taxes payable by the casino operator.
The new arrangements:
- implement a 2022–23 Victorian Budget announcement to equalise the tax rates in respect of electronic gaming machines operated by a casino operator and machines operated by clubs (being venue operators with club gaming machine entitlements) from 1 July 2023. The flat 22.97% tax rate that applied to the casino operator under its previous tax arrangements has been replaced with a marginal tax rate scale in the new Act, with the highest rate being 60.67%
- amend the Casino Control Act 1991 (CCA) to enable the VGCCC to take disciplinary action against the casino operator for taxation-related contraventions of the new Act or the TAA as it applies to the Act
- amend the Casino (Management Agreement) Act 1993 (CMAA) to repeal the former casino taxation provisions and to provide that the State of Victoria has no liability for losses incurred as a result of implementing new taxation arrangements.
Apart from the Budget initiative, the new provisions are broadly similar to the former taxation provisions under the CMAA, with changes as necessary to transfer administration to the Commissioner and to establish a framework consistent with other taxation laws. For example, the casino operator is required to register with the Commissioner and lodge monthly returns.
Keno tax and wagering and betting tax
The Act also relocates the taxing provisions for point of consumption keno tax and wagering and betting tax from the Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (GRA) to it. The Act’s provisions are similar to the old keno tax and wagering and betting tax provisions under the GRA, except minor obsolete or redundant provisions have been removed.
It also implements the 2023–24 Victorian Budget announcement to increase the wagering and betting tax rate from 10% to 15% from 1 July 2024.
Taxation administration
The Act has become a taxation law under the TAA. This means the TAA provides for refunds and offsets of taxes under the new Act, the disclosure of protected information to the VGCCC and the criminal liability of officers of bodies corporate for certain offences under the Act.
