"Unfair,
unsustainable, uncompetitive": Lib MP unleashes on land tax
LOCAL
EXCLUSIVE | A Marshall Government MP and
former Liberal state president has sensationally broken ranks over the party’s
land tax grab, telling constituents the proposed changes would “unfairly
penalise law-abiding citizens” and drive investment out of the state. It
comes as the South Australian chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organisation – an
international network of influential business owners with 186 chapters
worldwide – today added its own voice to the chorus of business discontent,
with president Andrew Phillips saying the proposed changes “will only serve to
make SA less attractive” as an investment destination, “whilst also opening the
floodgates for up-and-coming local entrepreneurs to move interstate”.
The message to entrepreneurs is – why invest in SA when New
South Wales and Victoria present far superior opportunities?
“This
initiative is not only an attack on aspirational citizens who have legally
structured their holdings in a manner permitted by the Land Tax Act of 1936,
but it reinforces the perception that we don’t know how to grow our economy
organically,” he said in a statement. “We
are looking to our government to lay the foundation for increased
entrepreneurial activity, rather than focusing on new ways to penalise growth
and success.” The
Adelaide chapter, co-founded by Business SA CEO Martin Haese, has 50 members,
with membership “open to entrepreneurs who have established businesses with a
turnover in excess of USD$1million”. Phillips
said one member had recently arrived from South Africa, “where he had a
substantial property portfolio and had intended on establishing a similar one
here”. “Sadly,
his plans to enter the property market have now been shelved – and I wonder how
many other ventures involving property have also now been parked due to the
uncertainty the proposed changes bring,” he said. “The
message to entrepreneurs is – why invest in SA when New South Wales and
Victoria present far superior opportunities?”
