Making them Pay

The Greens will make the big banks, fossil fuel companies, property developers and the gambling industry pay their fair share of tax so we can invest in climate action, affordable housing and public services for all.

We can save millions and help fund the transition to a cleaner, more sustainable economy by setting up a Public Bank for NSW, increasing the levies paid by polluting and harmful industries and capturing a share of property developer windfalls.

Our plans will also be paid for by spending smarter and making our state borrowings work for the community.

Public Banking for NSW

Banking is an essential public service. Providing services for people, not creating corporate profit, should be at the heart of Australia’s banking sector. Yet, while bank profits continue to soar, increasing numbers of people in NSW are struggling to make ends meet.

Coalition and Labor governments have allowed the big banks to run rampant at the community’s expense. They have accumulated mega profits and paid outrageous salaries to CEOs and upper management. As the Royal Commission has confirmed, the big banks have failed the community with unethical behaviour and greed.

Due to a lack of competition in Australia’s banking sector, Australians are at the mercy of the big banks when it comes to interest rates and fees. This has a real impact on our everyday quality of life, meaning we have less to spend on the essentials necessary for a good life. Greater competition from community-owned and not-for-profit banks is needed to break the unhealthy oligopoly of the big Australian banks.

The Greens will:

Establish a Public Bank for NSW, run for the people by the people, to support the community to address the big challenges of our time – like climate change, economic inequality and housing affordability. The Public Bank will save the state hundreds of millions of dollars in transaction fees that are otherwise paid to the big banks each year, and provide a productive place for all levels of government to invest their cash deposits.
Require the big banks to pay a fairer share towards the NSW economy with a supplementary Bank Levy, bringing in around $500 million extra per year to improve the lives of people across NSW.

Developer Windfall Profits Tax

When land is rezoned for increased density, developer landowners make millions on the gains in land value but they don’t have to fair share

But under current NSW laws, developers don’t have to share any of their unearned windfall profits to pay for the public infrastructure that’s needed. For decades, that infrastructure has been paid for by the public, meaning that Liberal-National and Labor governments have allowed a massive transfer of public wealth into private hands.

The rights to increase development are granted by our public planning system. The public deserves to get a fair price for our land.

Coal and Gas Climate Levy

The fossil fuel industry has caused a climate crisis which is leading to catastrophic weather events such as floods, bushfires, storms and droughts. Deloitte has calculated that natural disasters cost the Australian economy $38 billion per year, rising to $73 billion by 2060.

The fossil fuel industry has known for decades that burning coal, oil and gas is driving the climate crisis, yet has actively opposed the transition to renewables. Instead they are making record profits, with coal exports for Australia forecast to reach $120 billion in earnings in 2022–‍23. NSW is the 4th largest exporter of coal in the world, yet the state is only forecast to receive $2.2 billion in royalties in 2022-23.

It’s time for coal and gas corporations to take responsibility for the climate crisis and pay for the damage they have caused. It shouldn’t be left to the community who are already feeling the burden of more frequent and extreme weather events.

The Greens have a plan to transform our towns and cities to better withstand future climate disasters, led by the community and paid for by the coal and gas industry.

The Greens will:

Introduce a Climate Disaster Levy on coal exports to raise over $7 billion per year towards a Climate Recovery and Transformation Fund
Establish a Climate Recovery and Transformation Authority to assist communities at risk of climate disasters
Empower communities to prepare for climate change through Citizens Climate Assemblies

Community Led Climate Recovery, Paid for by the Coal Industry

The fossil fuel industry has caused a climate crisis which is driving catastrophic weather events. The floods that have devastated NSW this year follow a string of increasingly damaging climate disasters with bushfires, floods, storms and droughts becoming more frequent and more destructive.

The fossil fuel industry has known for decades that burning coal and gas is the leading cause of climate change but has actively opposed all moves by governments to transition to renewables. It’s time that those industries which have knowingly contributed to the climate crisis be made to pay for them, not the community who are already bearing the brunt of more frequent and extreme weather events.

Not only should they pay, but communities should be empowered to decide how those funds will be used to prepare them for an uncertain future. That’s why the Greens have a plan to transform our towns and cities so that they can better withstand future climate disasters, led by the community and paid for by the coal industry that has caused the climate crisis.

EXTREME WEALTH PROPERTY TAX

TACKLING ECONOMIC INEQUALITY AND DELIVERING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

As part of the Greens plans to tackle growing housing inequality and the chronic lack of affordable housing in NSW, we will introduce a new land tax on high-end residential properties, increase and expand the existing land tax payable on investment properties and abolish the land-tax concessions being handed over to big developers under the cover of ‘build-to-rent’ schemes that don’t deliver affordable housing.

The Greens’ package will create more social and affordable housing - at the expense of those who are extremely wealthy and can absolutely afford to pay.

Our ‘Extreme Wealth Property Tax’ will require owners of residential owner-occupied properties with a land value of more than $10 million, or an improved value of more than $20 million, to pay a flat 4% land tax. The Greens are also committed to increasing the rate of land tax payable above the Premium Threshold by anyone who owns property that is not their principal place of residence from 2% to 5%¹. Additionally, we will expand this tax to include any investor who owns 8 or more residential properties.

THE GREENS WILL:

Introduce a new land tax on owner-occupied residential properties with an unimproved land value over $10 million or an improved value over $20 million at a flat 4% of the improved value.
Increase the rate of land tax payable on non owner-occupied properties and land that meets the NSW government Premium Threshold to 5% from 2%, and expand the Premium Threshold to include investors who own more than 8 residential properties.
Abolish the build-to-rent 50% land tax concession unless these developments yield at least 30% ongoing social and affordable housing on private land and 100% on publicly owned land.
Maintain existing hardship deferrals for residential land and exemptions on primary production lands and conduct an independent review of other exemptions.
Use all revenue raised by this tax to build or purchase more social and affordable homes.