The state's ballooning debt crisis has left Victorians priced out of the property market due to increasing property taxes and pressured household budgets, new Property Council data has revealed.
A poll of almost 1000 Victorians found 63 per cent believe the state's growing debt is contributing to higher property taxes, while 64 per cent are concerned about the impact of state debt on their ability to pay rent or meet mortgage repayments.
The findings come as Victoria's pre-election budget update reveals debt is expected to reach $173.1 billion for 2027, with forecasts showing it will climb to a staggering $196.2 billion by 2030.
Property Council Group Executive Policy and Advocacy Matthew Kandelaars said Victoria's debt addiction has put a major handbrake on housing delivery and property ownership, with the burden falling onto the shoulders of Victorians.
"The Victorian debt monster's insatiable appetite has government stealing from the plates of homebuyers and renters to feed it," Mr Kandelaars said.
"After 12 years of borrowing, spending and 32 new and increased property taxes - making up half of the state's tax revenue - Victorians are asking why the government keeps sending the bill to the sector responsible for building the homes we desperately need.
"The government has turned property into its favourite ATM, and now the interest bill on its debt is eating into family budgets with every mortgage payment.
"While the government is incapable of tightening its own belt, it has no problem tightening the screws on everyone else.
"Every one of the additional 32 new and increased taxes makes the numbers harder to stack up. Investors walk, projects stall, new homes don't get built and the pressure on buyers and renters worsens.
"Victoria cannot tax its way out of a housing shortage. The next government must get debt under control, reset property taxes and restore confidence for the private investment needed to build more homes.
Restoring housing investment and affordability requires the next Victorian Government to break the cycle of debt-driven fiscal pressure and soaring property taxes and grow the housing market, including:
- Abolishing the supply-killing Absentee Owner Surcharge in full, which currently penalises Australian builders who partner with capital from overseas including Dutch or Canadian pension funds to build Australian homes
- Abolishing the Windfall Gains Tax, which slugs a 50 per cent tax on anyone with the desire to turn non-productive land into new housing opportunities
- Clearing hundreds of applications in the Development Facilitation Program planning backlog, worth tens of billions of dollars, within the first 100 days.
"Victorians deserve a housing market that gives them a genuine opportunity to buy or rent a home, not one where the cost of government debt makes that opportunity increasingly difficult to reach," Mr Kandelaars said.
"There's a way out of this mess. Tighten the government's belt, get debt under control, cut the taxes that punish investment, clear the planning roadblocks and get buyers back into the market."
