Ovens Valley electorate
Tim McCURDY (Ovens Valley) (14:42): (1192) My question is to the Treasurer in the other place, and I ask on behalf of Ruth Hackett of Katamatite, who wants to know how the Treasurer can justify the ridiculous price tag on a block of land of $51,000 for land tax purposes when she only recently purchased this block of land, that was landlocked behind her property on the Tocumwal–Benalla road, for the princely sum of $3000 – that is what she paid for it. This land is of no use to any other purchaser and cannot be built on as a standalone property. The Allan Labor government’s cruel land tax slug initially valued the block at $60,000 – when she paid $3000 for it – for land tax revenue. After initially being questioned on the outrageous figure, the government dropped it to $51,000 – obviously just high enough, as it still falls above the threshold for land tax. The Treasurer is clearly inventing figures to enable the government to milk the land tax cow even further, and Ruth Hackett needs justification. Needless to say, she is prepared to sell the block to the Victorian Treasurer for $50,000 if that is the registered valuation.