- New measure will ensure foreign buyers contribute to Budget repair and the infrastructure they benefit from
- WA Liberal Party and Nationals Party attempted to further burden WA families with more debt by voting against Bill
- Revenue raised will go towards the cost of freezing TAFE fees and Budget repair
Foreign buyers of residential property in Western Australia will pay a seven per cent surcharge from January 1, 2019 after legislation passed through the Legislative Council today. The surcharge will raise about $120 million over the next four years.
The surcharge brings Western Australia in line with every other State in Australia, all of which already have a Foreign Buyers Surcharge in place.
The passage of legislation also fulfils another election promise from the 2017 election during which the McGowan Government committed to introduce a Foreign Buyers Surcharge.
The surcharge will allow the McGowan Government to fund its freeze in TAFE fees and also assist in Budget repair.
Despite a deceitful campaign of misinformation by both the Liberal and Nationals parties, who from the outset of this debate chose to support foreign property speculators over WA households, the legislation passed with the support of the WA Greens and One Nation parties.
As stated by Finance Minister Ben Wyatt:
"This is the right result for the State to have foreign buyers of WA property contribute to the infrastructure from which they benefit and Budget repair.
"It was disappointing that the WA Liberal and Nationals parties, who together in government destroyed the State's finances and have laden future generations with billions of dollars of debt, chose to once again collude in an attempt to further burden WA families with the task of Budget repair.
"The Greens and One Nation should be applauded for showing a more mature and constructive approach to fixing the State's finances, and ensuring that WA was not the only State in the country that did not have a Foreign Buyers Surcharge.
"While the Liberal and Nationals parties continue in Opposition to wreck the finances of the State, the McGowan Government will continue to govern in the best interests of the local community."
