State Government provides taxation relief to home buyers and business

Mr Raimondo said that the Treasurer had listened to the community and reduced the cost of stamp duty for all home buyers.

"The State Government has returned to home buyers the extra tax they would have paid as a result of house prices increasing over the last year.

"A first home buyer in Melbourne will save around $3200 on a median priced home. This is a significant cut and will help around 35,000 young families buy a home every year.

"The REIV has been campaigning for the indexation of stamp duty rates for a decade now and the lifting of the stamp duty rate thresholds by 10 per cent will save tens of thousands of home buyers from bracket creep.

"The indexation will save someone buying a median priced home around $750 and mean that Victoria no longer has the highest stamp duty in Australia.

"Indexation means that stamp duty on a home valued at $432,500 will drop from $18,760 to $17,995.

"This change means that Victorians are not paying more stamp duty as a result of house price increases.

"Victorians buying a newly constructed home in regional Victoria will also benefit from $3000 increase in the First Home Buyers Bonus, raising total assistance to $15,000. This will totally remove stamp duty for many country home builders.

"We are also pleased to see the top rate of land tax cut from 2.5 to 2.25 per cent. This cut will ensure Victoria remains competitive. The increase in the bottom threshold will provide a small amount of assistance to investors in affordable rental properties as well.

"The cuts to land tax ensure that Victoria remains competitive in attracting business investment.

"I congratulate the Victorian Government and look forward to indexation of stamp duty rates becoming a regular feature of Victorian budgets," Mr Raimondo concluded.