VIC:Dumping of fire levy welcomed

AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2010
VIC:Dumping of fire levy welcomed

By Melissa Jenkins

MELBOURNE, Aug 27 AAP - Victorian home owners will pay a new tax from July 2012 to
fund most of the state's firefighting effort, in a move that has won widespread community
support.

At present a fire service levy is charged on insurance premiums, raising almost $600
million a year - about three-quarters of the budgets of the Country Fire Authority and
Metropolitan Fire Brigade.

Premier John Brumby announced on Friday the levy would be replaced with a property-based
tax, as recommended by the Bushfires Royal Commission, with a 50 per cent discount for
pensioners.

"The reality is we've got a section of our community that doesn't insure, and that
means for the 90 per cent or thereabouts that does insure, they're paying for the 10 per
cent who don't," he told reporters as he released the government's response to the commission's
final report.

About one-third of the houses destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfires were uninsured.

Treasurer John Lenders promised that taxpayers would not be hit more under the new arrangement.

"The average person will pay the same, or in fact less, because the burden is being
spread among the non-insured," he said.

"It is the same amount being raised for the same purpose. It is ... a fairer way that
means there are no freeloaders."

Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said the opposition had been calling for the scrapping
of the levy since last year, while Insurance Council of Australia chief executive Rob
Whelan said it was an unfair and inefficient tax.

Victorian Farmers Federation president Andrew Broad said farmers were celebrating after
a long campaign to dump the levy.

Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Enzo Raimondo said the move would
end the "tax on tax" situation whereby GST is charged on the levy.

AAP mj/pmu/jhp

KEYWORD: TEAGUE TAX

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