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■ Euroa MLA Annabelle Cleeland has told Parliament how State Government taxes are crippling local families. “This conversation around superannuation also opens the door to something bigger. It raises the need to look more broadly at the financial systems Victorians are trying to navigate, particularly when it comes to land tax,” Ms Cleeland said. “Let me share some stories from real people who are trying to balance these systems and getting caught in the crossfire. “Rocco from Dhurringile is one of them. He bought a property through his superannuation fund, a holiday rental in Merrijig. “Anyone who knows Merrijig knows it is heavily seasonal, absolutely beautiful and close to the alpine region. “Despite this, Rocco does not qualify for any of the relevant regional exemptions and is still being hit with land tax through the Victorian residential commercial tenancy framework. “Because the property is tied to his super, he is not even allowed to use it himself when it is sitting vacant. “This is a system that just does not get the reality of seasonal properties or of superannuation investments. “Mary Kipping from Locksley is another local who has been unfairly treated. She owns just one property, yet she is being double charged. “Why? Because the system is not built to reflect real-life, honest situations like Mary’s. “There is also Elizabeth Grant from Goorambat. She is facing land tax on her primary residence, her actual home. “Like so many others, she is being taxed on the roof over her head – not an investment property, not a side business, but her family home, and she is not alone. “This is something I am hearing more and more: people being taxed on the homes they live in and love, often while they are just trying to keep their heads above water. “Matthew Trewin from Avenel runs a farm, and he is being taxed on the house that sits on his farming property, his home, which happens to be located on land that is also used for primary production. “Instead of assessing that house separately, the government lumps it in with the entire property, massively inflating his land tax bill. It is not fair and it is not practical. “Farmers like Matthew are doing it tough enough already without being hit with bureaucratic nonsense like this. “And it is not just individuals. Our community organisations are getting smashed too. The Nagambie Historical Society is a small, volunteer-run group with just 60 members, and they sell jams and pickles to keep the doors open. “Yet somehow they have received a land tax bill for $1000. When they reached out to the State Revenue Office for help they were simply told to write a letter . “ Back to superannuation: David Russell from Ruffy is another one. He and his wife live in their one and only home, and still they are being sent land tax bills. “Despite supplying proof that it is their primary residence, David has received debt coll-
‘These are ordinary Victorians – people trying to live their lives, raise families, run farms and care for their communities’
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● Annabelle Clleeland, Euroa MLA ction letters. He has done everything right and he is still being treated like he is dodging tax. It is unacceptable. “These are ordinary Victorians – people trying to live their lives, raise families, run farms and care for their communities – and they are being slammed with land tax bills that just do not make sense. “There might be exemptions on paper, but the reality is that people are being left to fight through red tape, beg for help and jump through hoops just to get treated fairly. :”Back to the bill: while the technical amendments might seem straightforward, there are real issues that cannot be ignored, particularly the changes around board representation for SSF members. “The government wants to remove the ability for members to elect their own representatives to the Emergency Services Superannuation Board and instead hand that power over to unions, which will nominate someone on their behalf. “The reason the government gives is that it is too difficult to find people to fill those roles. We do not buy it. There are more than 6000 SSF members who are still eligible. If we truly respect the democratic rights of members, especially when it comes to a decision about $37 billion in managed assets, we should bend over backwards to protect that democratic process and not scrap it,” Ms Cleeland said.