Stamp duty discounts and tax credits in recovery-lead budget
The State Budget is out, and the big ticket item for Melton is $75 million for the new Melton Hospital, with funds to purchase land and begin planning for construction to commence in 2022.
There is also funding for local schools - Diggers Rest Primary School ($3.204 million), Exford Primary School ($25.325 million) and Melton Specialist School ($9.656 million) - and $500,000 to continue the revitalisation of Melton’s town centre.
And the news for business is good, the Business Council of Australia and VCCI this afternoon praising the budget’s range of incentives aimed at getting hundreds of thousands of people back to work and breathing new life into a post-lockdown economic landscape.
Among today’s budget announcements:
The Government has set a goal of creating 200,000 jobs by 2022 and 400,000 by 2025, focusing on women, young people, older workers and those without formal qualifications. To achieve this, the Government has committed $250 million to subsidise the wages of at least 10,000 workers under the Jobs for Victoria initiative.
Tax credits will be introduced to encourage small and medium businesses to rehire staff, restore hours or create new jobs. Businesses will get a tax credit of 10 cents for every dollar they increase taxable Victorian wages. The measure will last for two years and the Government expects it will support 9,400 people in returning to work.
There is further funding of $266.5 million for intensive individual support for jobseekers, such as career counselling and resume help, as well as an extra 80,000 free TAFE and training places in courses linked to in-demand jobs.
Sick leave is coming for casual workers, with $5 million committed to develop a new Secure Work Pilot Scheme. Once in place, the two-year pilot will provide up to five days of sick and carer’s pay at the national minimum wage for casual or insecure workers in priority industries.
To stimulate the property market, the Government will waive up to 50 percent of stamp duty on newly built or off-the-plan homes valued at up to $1 million until June 30 next year. Existing homes will be eligible for a 25 per cent waiver.
A $500 million Victorian Homebuyer Fund will be launched to help people who do not have a 20 percent deposit buy homes. The fund will contribute to the purchase price in exchange for equity in the property.
A 50 percent land tax discount to be introduced from 2022 aims to attract new investment in build-to-rent developments and to boost housing supply by about 5,000 homes.
Read more about the 2020/21 State Budget at the State Government’s budget website.