The move to cut stamp duty from agricultural products in Victoria has been welcomed by the
Insurance Council of Australia (ICA).
In its state budget announced earlier this week, The Andrews Government confirmed that it would axe the 10% stamp duty on agricultural insurance, making products more affordable for farmers.
Rob Whelan, ICA CEO, called the move “a great decision” as stamp duty, combined with GST, can add more than 20% to insurance premiums and has been blamed for high numbers of underinsurance or non-insurance.
Whelan said that the ICA will look to work alongside the Andrews Government on the details of the proposed reform to ensure maximum effectiveness.
“The removal of insurance stamp duties has been endorsed by the Black Saturday Royal Commission, the Henry Tax Review and the Productivity Commission Inquiry into Natural Disaster Funding Arrangements,” Whelan said.
“Not only does it make sense to remove barriers to homes and businesses purchasing insurance, research by
Deloitte Access Economics in 2015 found that the long-term impact of replacing these inefficient taxes would be a boost to Victoria’s economy of more than a billion dollars.”
The removal of stamp duty from insurance products has long been a talking point for the insurance industry. Whelan said that the industry hopes that the decision will flow through to all other commercial and personal policies.
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