By KATH GANNAWAY
THE State Government will remove the ‘tax on tax’ component of the new Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) which comes into effect on 1 July.
Victoria’s fire services are currently funded by the Fire Services Levy (FSL).
The removal of GST and stamp duty from the levy will result in savings of about 20 per cent for household and business owners, according to Treasurer Michael O’Brien who announced the changes today.
Under the new arrangement, the government will also provide a $21 million concession program for eligible pensioners and veterans.
The FSPL replaces the insurance-based FSL which was paid only by people who had household or business insurance, and which also attracted stamp duty and GST – the ‘tax on tax’ which saw insurance policy holders not only subsidising non-policy holders, but paying substantial additional taxes.
Announcing further details on how a reformed FSPL would work, Mr O’Brien said the FSPL would be collected with council rates and would be $100 for residential properties and $200 for all other properties plus a charge based on the capital improved value of the property.
Farmers with multiple properties that operate as a single enterprise will pay the fixed charge only once.
Mr O’Brien said for households in CFA areas the contribution was expected to reduce from an FSL average of $262 in 2011/12 to $142 in 2013/14.
For households in MFB areas, the new expected average is $143 compared with $193 under the FSL.
The government will continue to fund 22.5 per cent of the CFA’s budget and 12.5 per cent of the MFB’s budget.
Changes to the FSL were one of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission recommendations.
