THE State Government has proposed that landowners whose property is brought inside an expanded urban growth boundary on Melbourne's fringe should pay a tax, dubbed the growth areas infrastructure contribution, of $95,000 per hectare.
The State Government says land drawn inside the UGB, enough for 90,000 homes, will experience a 'tenfold' increase in value, and the tax is needed to pay for infrastructure in growth areas.
But landowners, under the banner of protest group Taxed Out, say the land will not increase in value as expected, leaving landowners crippled with huge tax bills.
The State Government has recently made provision for staged payments for larger properties, but Taxed Out maintains the tax should be paid when the land is developed, not when it is sold.
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