Minister welcomes Queensland decision to exempt aged care providers from paying land tax
The Australian Government today applauded the decision by the Queensland Government - in its 2008-2009 Budget - to exempt residential aged care providers from paying land tax as part of the measure “Tax concessions to assist older persons”.
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4 June 2008
Federal Government today applauded the decision by the Queensland Government -- in its 2008-2009 Budget – to exempt residential aged care providers from paying land tax as part of the measure “Tax concessions to assist older persons”.
The Budget papers show that this will lower land tax receipts by $20 million over four years.
Minister for Ageing, Mrs Justine Elliot today officially congratulated the Queensland Premier, Ms Anna Bligh, Queensland Treasurer, Mr Andrew Fraser and Queensland Minister for Seniors, Lindy Nelson-Carr.
Yesterday (June 3) Queensland said it hoped to have it in place by January 1.
(In Queensland, there are about 500 services, providing more than 30,000 residential places.)
The move brings Queensland into line with a number of other States, including NSW, Victoria and Western Australia – who have abolished land tax for aged care providers.
This decision extends the existing exemption for retirement villages to aged care homes.
“This is a welcome move that will benefit older Australians by lowering the operating costs for aged care homes,” Mrs Elliot said.
“The Queensland government said it undertook the measure to reduce costs for operators. Aged care providers will now be able to provide more funds to spend on providing quality care rather than paying State tax.”
The Queensland budget measure stated the concessions include:
“providing a land tax exemption for aged care facilities, which will complement the existing exemption for retirement villages”.
Mrs Elliot said the land tax exemption is in addition to the support for the residential aged care sector that has increased under the Rudd Government.
Over the next four years, Federal funding for aged and community care will reach record levels of more than $40 billion -- with $28.6 billion of that on residential aged care alone.
“No government in Australian history has spent more on aged care and community care than this one. We are proud of our plans for aged and community care.”
Mrs Elliot said the Australian Government is committed to the long-term viability of Australia’s aged care sector and the protection of the nation’s frail and elderly.
“The Federal Government is building a modern Australia capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century,” Mrs Elliot said.
“Caring for our ageing population is one of the major challenges facing our nation this century - and as a Government - we take that responsibility very seriously.”
”This is about planning for Australia’s future and the challenges of the 21st century.
“We want to ensure that older Australians can live independent lives and age in their own homes, but also have the option to enter aged care homes if they need to,” Mrs Elliot said.
For more information, contact Mrs Elliot's office on (02) 6277 7280
Extract from Queensland Budget papers 2008-09
 | 2007-08 $’000 | 2008-09 $’000 | 2009-10 $’000 | 2011-12 $’000 | 2011-12 $’000 |
| Tax concessions to assist older persons | …. | (5,000) | (5,000) | (5,000) | (5,000) |
| The Government will extend certain land tax and duties exemptions and concessional rates to assist older persons. The measures include providing a land tax exemption for aged care facilities, which will complement the existing exemption for retirement villages. Also, the duties home concession will be extended to apply to residents of retirement villages who are required to enter lease and sub-lease occupancy arrangements. Refer to Budget Paper No. 2 - Budget Strategy and Outlook for more detail. |
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