One of Victoria’s peak property groups has slammed the Allan government’s “ruthless” land tax regime, warning inaccurate valuations and inflated bills could send house prices soaring. Linda Allison, the Victorian chief executive of the Urban Development Institute of Australia – the peak industry body for urban development – said she had received several reports of “errors in calculations, incorrect land included, incorrect assumptions, and high valuations for land not deemed developable”.
Owners slam dodgy valuations as fees soar
“Our members have told us that they have been lodging land tax valuation objections on many projects across Melbourne in recent years,” she said. “The very high land tax costs inevitably get passed on to the homebuyer.” Victoria’s finance watchdog is being called on to probe the state’s “systematically broken” land tax system as shoddy property valuations send bills and council rates through the roof.
The State Revenue Office and the Valuer-General’s office have been called out over the errors, prompting the opposition to request an investigation. Treasurer Jaclyn Symes has also come under pressure to reverse the latest land tax hike – introduced in 2023 to plug Covid debt – after an extra 380,000 Victorians were slugged for the first time year.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra warned the tax hike was stifling investment, with business owners unable to sell properties because “there’s not buyers who are wanting to come into the environment that is Victoria”. Property Council of Australia executive director Cath Evans called on Ms Symes to “actively review the tax burden to Victorian property owners” before the state budget.
Opposition Treasury spokes man James Newbury said the “systemically broken” land tax system must be “independently reviewed”. “There are too many mistakes for it to be coincidence,” he said.
The Sunday Herald Sun recently reported they have uncovered a series of false, dodgy and inflated land tax bills, sparking accusations of a multi-tiered Allan government tax grab. Unsuspecting Victorians are being chased by the State Revenue Office to pay dodgy land tax bills on properties they no longer own.
In the latest tax scandal, Victorian small-business owners have been slapped with soaring land tax bills and increased council rates after being notified of massive increases in the valuation of their property.
Tow truck business owners Emmaly and David Gridley’s were informed the value of their 4.4ha block of “mostly dirt” in Moe had soared by 422 per cent over a four-year period to a whopping $2.3m. Bought for $440,000 in 2020, it was revalued to $1.6m last year, pushing up land tax to more than $20,000 and council rates up by more than $3000.
After months of fighting, the Valuer-General revalued the land at $770,000 – $830,000 less. But a new assessment in 2025 sent the value to a mammoth $2.3m, bringing their land tax bill to over $30,000.
“It seems like the government is just penalising us unfairly without any straight-forward way of setting the record straight,” Ms Gridley said.
Kelly Bidesi and Bill Redmond are looking to move their fit-out business, Ramvek, interstate after their land tax bill jumped from $32,310 to $123,075 in just two years. “The state government is kicking us in the backside,” Mr. Redmond said.
A Warragul factory valued at $790,000 in 2024, attracting a land tax payment of $6466, soared to $1.2m in a year, increasing the bill to $11,368. “This is simply revenue raising by over taxing the working man/investor,” property owner Colin Stoll said.
A government spokesman said errors were “rare” and fixed quickly. The State Revenue Office said it did not comment on individual cases.
This article first appeared in heraldsun.
