ENDEAVOUR HILLS HALLAM DOVETON
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/DandenongJournal
Tuesday, 27 February, 2024
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Hitting the high notes Noble-Park born Benny Sinclair is a rapper, boxer, author and father, who is living by his lyrics that “nothing in this life is out of reach.” Read more about his story on page 6
Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
SEMMA seethes By Cam Lucadou-Wells
12672044-AV09-24
Dandenong manufacturers are part of an advocacy group’s fierce campaign calling for the State to stop “gouging“ them with spiralling land tax rises. South East Melbourne Manufacturers Alliance states it is “seething” at an “unjustified cash grab” from the State Government that it says will cost jobs and investment. It says that land valuations have soared in the past year, partly fueling land tax bills that have doubled and tripled. The backlash from SEMMA was “probably the strongest action we’ve taken“ says longserving SEMMA member and president Peter Angelico. The Dandenong manufacturer and wellknown Liberal member called on the Government to instead “find genuine cost savings
without cutting on the quality of service“. “There’s plenty of ways to save money without putting taxes up.“ Hallam manufacturer Ace Wire Works’ land valuation doubled from $4.2 million to $8.5 million in 12 months. It led to a land tax bill climbing from $58,575 to $177,400. Ace Wire Works project manager Simon Blashki says its land tax bill had soared 1000 per cent in five years. He fears that the Government might “kill the Golden Goose”, pointing out that the increased land value “doesn’t make our business more profitable”. A fairer revenue-raiser would be tied to a company’s profit, Blashki says. “It’s a huge amount of money to pay. Trying to compete overseas and interstate – that’s where this gets more challenging.”
According to the Government, the “temporary” changes to land tax rates and thresholds are part of its Covid Debt Repayment Plan introduced in 2023. SEMMA chief executive Honi Walker said manufacturers were being “gouged” to cover the government’s “Covid debt burden”. They should instead be exempt from the land tax increase, she says. “Manufacturers are being penalized for running profitable businesses – businesses that are the engine room of our state’s economy. “We continued to pay ever-increasing taxes – land, payroll, FBT, PAYG, Capital Gains Tax, GST and Company Income Tax plus an increase in Work Cover premiums in some cases over 70 per cent – you name it we paid it. “Now we are being asked to cover a debt that we did not contribute to.”
In a SEMMA members survey, many indicated it would make them increase prices, hinder them from hiring more staff, and investing in equipment. Some have considered moving interstate. “The effects will be felt at the consumer level when we are forced to increase our prices to cover these tax hikes,” Walker said. More than half of SEMMA’s membership comes from Greater Dandenong. The South East region employs 267,500 people in manufacturing and provides 30 per cent of Australia’s manufacturing output. South-Eastern Metropolitan MP David Limbrick of the Libertarian Party told Parliament that “thousands” of manufacturing jobs were under threat due to “yet another over-the-top government response to the pandemic”. Continued page 17