Under our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will:
- Introduce a 5 % levy on short stay accommodation to deliver around $11 million a year.
- 83 % will be paid by overseas and interstate travellers, and 100 % of the levy will go to helping Tasmanians buy their first home.
An important part of our 2030 Strong Plan for Tasmania’s Future is to make it easier for Tasmanians to own their own home.
QUICK FACTS
- The levy will be introduced on short stay rental properties such as those advertised on AirBnb and Stayz.
- 100 % of the levy will be used to support Tasmanian first home-buyers.
- It will not apply to traditional accommodation operators such as hotels, pubs, B&Bs
or caravan parks.- The short stay levy will be paid by those using short stay accommodation, not the property owners.
- The levy will be paid overwhelmingly by interstate and overseas travellers, with
83 % of short stays in Tasmania used by non locals.- A short stay levy will not impact demand, as demonstrated across Europe and North America where similar levies exist.
- A short stay levy of 7.5 % has recently been announced in Victoria and is also being considered in New South Wales.
Over the past decade Tasmania has gone through an unprecedented period of economic and population growth, increasing from 513,000 when we came to office in 2014 to 573,000 today.But with this growth has also come growing pains, and unprecedented pressure on our housing supply and infrastructure.
In response, in the last four years alone we’ve delivered 3,000 more homes for Tasmanians.
Despite this, we know that for many Tasmanians owning their first home lies beyond reach, and rental prices are still too high.
Our state-wide short stay regulatory policy has played an important role in enabling and supporting the growth of our visitor economy.However, on the other side of the coin, there is no doubt that the increasing number of houses on the short stay market has reduced the availability of long stay rentals, and contributed to higher rents.
The Liberal Party is a strong supporter of the rights of Tasmanians to use their homes to generate income through either short or long stay rental, and we have no intention of curtailing that right with policies such as arbitrary and unfair caps.
Rather, a re-elected majority Liberal Government will introduce a 5 % levy on short stay accommodation.
Importantly, 100 % of the levy will go directly to assisting first home buyers to buy their first home.
That’s around $11 million per year.
The levy will be paid overwhelmingly by interstate and overseas travellers, with 83 % of short stays used by interstate or overseas travellers.
A short stay levy will not impact demand, as demonstrated across Europe and North America where similar levies exist.
A short stay levy of 7.5 % has recently been announced in Victoria and is also being considered in New South Wales.
We will also ensure continued state-wide consistency of short stay regulation in Tasmania, by prohibiting the imposition of arbitrary caps and further geographic distortions of the market. This will ensure that we continue to strike the balance between supporting our visitor economy sector, private ownership rights, and housing affordability.
Cost: $0. This will generate $44 million in revenue over four years.