Evaluating the Impact of Tax Reform in the ACT
How has the ACT tax reform impacted the community and economy?
The problem:
In 2012, the ACT Government began a 20-year tax reform to make the system fairer and simpler. This reform sought to replace inefficient taxes, such as stamp duty and insurance duty, with a broad-based land tax through the general rates. As a result, the ACT now has some of the lowest stamp duty rates in Australia.
Our research:
- Our research assessed the first seven years of the ACT’s tax reform, focusing on its distributional, economic, and affordability impacts.
- We used a microsimulation model to compare outcomes under the new tax system with outcomes that would have occurred without the reform.
- We drew on Australian Bureau of Statistics surveys, ACT Government data, and other sources to project how the ACT’s economy and households would have looked without the reform.
Our impact:
- Our research showed that tax reform improved access to home ownership, particularly for first-home buyers, female-headed households, and lower-wealth households.
- We demonstrated that property turnover increased because more households could buy homes due to reduced stamp duty.
More houses can now afford to buy
due to stamp duty reductions.
| Our Researchers | Our Collaborators | Our Partners | Publications |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professor Robert Tanton Dr. Hai Anh La Professor Robert Breunig Dr. Ralf Steinhauser Nathan L Brown Sehrish Hussein | Tax and Transfer Policy Institute Crawford School of Public Policy Australian National University ACT Government Treasury and Economic Development Directorate | Changing Housing Taxation Composition: A Review of Policy in the Australian Capital Territory 2023 Analysis of the Impacts and Outcomes of the ACT Tax Reform Chapter 2 - Boosting the stock of social and affordable housing – Parliament of Australia Stamp duty, land tax changes made it easier for first-home buyers, increased property market turnover: modelling | The Canberra Times | Canberra, ACT |