Australia, Victorian State Government 7.5% Short Stay Levy to be introduced 1/1/25

[Colin764]

Has anyone got documentation about exclusions of the Victorian State Government 7.5% Short Stay Levy to be introduced 1/1/25?

Does it also exclude Businesses Registered for GST with the Australian Federal Government? 

At this point the only thing we have found is "The levy will apply to all bookings, unless your listing is your Principal Place of Residence".

This has been defined by the State Revenue Office as being attached to you PPR and not just on the same land.

The definitions in the Victorian State Government 7.5% Short Stay Levy, refer you to a part of the Federal GST legislation in regards to GST but it appears open to interpretation.

Colin Dayman

Church Lane, Accommodation.

Milawa, Victoria, Australia.

[Frances3408 · Accepted solution]

@Colin764 Hi Colin, it sounds like you have looked into this pretty thoroughly already.

I have a "feeling" that the intention of the levy was meant to target full time non hosted residential only so owners will be forced to return those properties to the long rental market and/or STR for longer . I think they will likely refer to council zoning as the meaning of commercial accommodation where it is more commonly applied for rates and valuations. The calculation of the levy as interacting with GST is another headache as residential rent is currently not subject to GST but commercial rent for business premises is. I dont know about motels though.

In their ORIGINAL August announcement of the pending legislation the ALP said:

"The levy will not apply to a homeowner leasing out all or part of their principal place of residence for a short stay. When a homeowner goes on holiday and someone else stays there temporarily, the levy does not apply. Commercial accommodation such as hotels, motels and caravan parks are also exempt. The levy will also only apply to stays less than 28 days. Transitional arrangements will be in place, and the levy will not apply to bookings made prior to 1 January 2025"

The problem is also as you say, what is a principal place of residence as under Federal tax laws anything that is rented out, even part of your own home may not be 100% PPOR exempt when it comes to CGT. But also under Federal tax laws a PPOR can include up to 5 acres surrounding a home.

Given their opposition, have you reached out to the state and Federal LNP for some assistance?.  They would no doubt have people who researched this bill and be more aware of the implications and what was actually passed.

But these are just my views and I am not an expert. I can say its going to be one mess for the STRs to administer in the transitional period. So you have my sympathy. Good luck and let us know what you find out as this levy may spread further.

[Colin764]

Hi Frances,

Yes we reached out to both sides of Politics with no definitive answers.  We have also requested information from Airbnb's Legal Department around a week ago and haven't heard anything from them either. Do you know how we can contact Airbnb's Legal Department, this Tax gets implemented in around 8 weeks and nobody is talking to us. We need to find out from Airbnb if we can opt in or out of having them collect the levy. We want to opt out as we meet the definition of being exempt. How do we contact Airbnb 's Legal department?

Regards

Colin

Church Lane Accommodation,

Milawa.

[Rebecca]

Hello @Colin764,

I am tagging @Frances3408 here for you, so they will receive a notification of your message and can hopefully come back to share more insights!

Quick tip: To tag someone, tap "@" and select the host's username from the dropdown menu 😊