Many within the insurance industry and others in Victoria are awaiting the news from the Victorian Government that the promise they made at the last State election will be honoured and that the completely unjust and downright crazy Fire Service Levy will be phased out from commercial property, and home & contents insurance from 1 July 2012 with it being removed completed by 30 June 2013.

The decision to remove this impost on Victorians was in fact made by the Brumby Labour Government in line with the recommendation of the “Black Saturday” Royal Commission. Mr Brumby announced this on the 27th August 2010. After many years with my own personal campaign through www.NoTaxOnInsurance.com.au and other avenues, it was one of the great highlights of my career to see the end of this insidious tax.

I thought we were certain to see the end of the tax even with the change of government in Victoria as Mr Ryan, the leader of the Victorian National Party was such a harsh critic of the tax.

The main problem I saw with the tax was that it resulted in too many home and business owners not insuring or if insuring not insuring enough. This tax on the prudent and risk averse meant that many people were found homeless or in the case of business, with their life’s work turned to ashes during the Victorian “Black Saturday” bushfires. Many families are yet to recover despite the very generous donations of the Australia people and people from all around the world for that matter.

With tax on tax on tax, it got to the ludicrous position that for every $1,000 paid by Victorian rural business they were paying tax of $1,226.40. Even Mr Brumby had to accept that when you double the price of any commodity people by less. This is simple basic economics. The full calculation speaks for itself in the table below:

 

Item

Tax Rate

$

Tax

Tax on Tax

Premium inc Terrorism Levy

1,000.00

 

 

Plus Fire Service Tax

84%

840.00

840.00

 

Sub Total

 

1,840.00

 

 

Plus GST

10%

184.000

184.00

84.00

Sub Total

 

2,024.00

 

 

Plus Stamp Duty

10%

202.40

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