Triguboff hits out at tax policies on apartment owners and developers

Harry Triguboff, Australia’s biggest builder of apartments, has hit out at hefty taxes levied on his apartment property empire, revealing to The Australian his Meriton group’s projects and its unit buyers paid about $650 million into federal, state and council coffers over the past financial year.

As NSW’s largest unit developer, Meriton’s many offshore buyers will be hit by a doubling of a tax surcharge targeting them from 4 to 8 per cent as Triguboff warns developers face the prospect of absorbing the tax hit themselves.

Triguboff, who is concerned about the broader effects of falling prices on the economy and the property sector, is fed up with the tax contribution both from his developments and the heavy levies on buyers.

Referring to his own bills, Triguboff said it was “one mighty big contribution from one man and one company".

“So why do governments make it so hard for Meriton and other major players who have track records, know what they are doing, and create thousands of jobs?”

“The more governments encourage developers, the key players in Australia’s biggest industry, the more dollars they’ll reap,” he said.

“It’s no good putting a foot on our throats and then wondering why the tax tills aren’t still loudly ringing.”

He revealed that last financial year, Meriton payments to the federal government via GST, company tax, and tax on employees totalled $295m.

The NSW government made $46.1m from stamp duty on property purchases by Meriton and from Meriton-related payroll tax.

Stamp duty paid by Meriton customers to Queensland and NSW totalled $83.6m. “Then there’s personal and company taxes, plus payroll tax, paid by our vast array of subcontractors. That comes in at well over $120 million.”