Thursday, 19 February 2009
The Brumby Labor Government has put in place measures to ensure stamp duty relief for those who lost family homes or vehicles in the fires. Treasurer John Lenders said the government was moving to help families return to a normal life as soon as possible.
“Many bushfire affected families will be looking to replace their home or their car and this will help them purchase these essential family assets,” Mr Lenders said.
Mr Lenders said the Government would waive the first $1050 of stamp duty on a vehicle for those families who had lost a vehicle in the fires. This means no stamp duty would be paid on an Australian built car like a Holden Berlina.
He said that the government may also waive the first $21,970 of stamp duty on new homes for those who had lost a home in the recent bushfires. This means no stamp duty would be paid on houses up to $500,000 by people rebuilding buying a replacement existing home or rebuilding a new home on a new site. People rebuilding on their own property are currently exempt from stamp duty.
“I hope this will help relieve some of the financial burden on people who have come through the most devastating natural disaster in Australia’s history,” Mr Lenders said.
Mr Lenders said the State Revenue Office had been instructed to assess each case on its merits to ensure that the process for obtaining both land transfer and motor vehicle stamp duty relief was as easy as possible for victims of the recent disaster.
The stamp duty waiver will not apply to commercial vehicles or properties other than a principal place of residence.
Mr Lenders also announced that duty would not be payable on cars donated to victims in the affected areas subject to the cars meeting VicRoads requirements.
The SRO has set up a special telephone line for anyone affected by the bushfires on 13 21 61.
In additional measures to take the financial burden off bushfire affected families the Brumby Labor Government will waive Land Victoria’s search and registration fees and charges for title and plan searches, amending land titles, the replacement of certificates of title and the registration of new mortgages.
Minister for Environment, Climate Change Gavin Jennings said the measures would help families that had lost their property records in the recent fires.
“The last thing these families need is to worry about the extra administrative costs of finding a new home following this devastating natural disaster,” Mr Jennings said.
http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/treasurer/stamp-duty-relief-for-bushfire-affected-families.html
