The residential transformation of St Kilda Road is set to continue into with more new apartment plans for the sought-after boulevard.

Wing Tai Asia has lodged plans for a major residential tower at 464-466 St Kilda Road, replacing the former VACC House with an 18-storey mixed-use development designed around a retained heritage podium and a sculpted contemporary tower.

The proposal, prepared under Victoria’s Significant Residential Development with Affordable Housing pathway, would deliver 325 apartments and ground-floor retail across the prominent 4,653 sqm boulevard site in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road North Precinct.

The project centres on the adaptive reuse of the site’s heritage-listed VACC Building, an eight-storey office designed by Bernard Evans that has occupied the address for decades. Planning documents state the development would involve “carefully dismantling and conserving off-site the original metal fabric of the podium visible from St Kilda Road,” before reinstating it as the defining frontage of the new scheme.

Above the restored podium, Wing Tai is proposing a curvilinear residential tower. The scheme includes 172 one-bedroom apartments, 63 two-bedroom apartments, 66 three-bedroom apartments, and 24 four-bedroom apartments, alongside two ground-floor food and beverage tenancies fronting St Kilda Road.

The tower has been designed with substantial articulation and variable setbacks to minimise perceived bulk and maintain view corridors along the boulevard. Urbis, which prepared the planning report, said the design “has been significantly articulated through a curvilinear design” with “an interplay with materials, façade expression and depth” to create visual separation and visual interest.

The proposal also includes 254 basement car spaces, landscaped pedestrian links connecting St Kilda Road and Queens Lane, and a biophilic landscape strategy featuring canopy trees, raised planters, cascading greenery and a glass oculus pool overlooking the eastern frontage.

Planning documents confirm the $270.1 million development will contribute 3 per cent of project costs to the Social Housing Growth Fund as part of the application process.

Wing Tai acquired the St Kilda Road property in 2018 alongside Abacus Property Group for $95.38 million, before later consolidating ownership of the site. The property previously served as the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce headquarters for around 60 years.

The transformation of the St Kilda Rd boulevard is already beginning to materialise, with a number of high-profile projects recently completed, launched, or approaching launch as developers continue to back the long-term appeal of the precinct.

Among the most notable recent completions is Louise by Samuel Property Group, just off the strip on Queens Lane, the same pocket Hirsch &amp; Faigen recently launched The Queensbury. Mirvac is too on the same street with The Albertine, which is approaching completion.

Dexus recently secured approval for its slice of St Kilda Road, while Gurner also has approved plans for the precinct.

Joel Robinson

Wing Tai unveils 325-apartment St Kilda Road tower on former VACC House site

Malaysian developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/s-p-setia">SP Setia</a> is the latest to jump into St Leonards booming Transport Oriented Development precinct.

The developer, which has previously delivered Sapphire by the Gardens apartment development in Melbourne, identified the Atchison Street site in 2023. It filed a Scoping Report around 12 months ago, and now has revealed the designs for the new&nbsp;40-storey mixed-use tower.

The State Significant Development Application covers <a href="https://next-portal.urban.com.au/projects/14650/summary">20-22 Atchison Street</a>, a 1,374 sqm site positioned between St Leonards Station and the new Crows Nest Metro station.

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/cox-architecture">COX Architecture</a>, the project would deliver 181 apartments, above a four-storey commercial podium, five basement levels, and new public domain works along Mitchell Street. The apartment mix comprises 35 one-bedroom apartments, 39 one-bedroom-plus-study apartments, 85 two-bedroom apartments, and 22 three-bedroom residences.

The proposal has been lodged as a shop-top housing development under the NSW Government’s TOD planning pathway, which allows increased density around key transport infrastructure. The site sits within the recently rezoned Crows Nest Accelerated TOD Precinct.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b799673d-48e2-46b0-801a-0e33a9330100" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20site.png?VersionId=dPh0UfwfaHpbFL1R7H1cbZNbIW0CHbCC" />

SP Setia acquired the Atchison Street site as part of its continued expansion into the Australian apartment market. In comments made to City &amp; Country (The Edge Malaysia) in 2023, SP Setia President and CEO Datuk Choong Kai Wai described the acquisition as “a strategic move” aligned with the group’s post-pandemic market recovery strategy.

“Our target for this exceptional development is local and overseas buyers, including first-home buyers, downsizers and investors,” Choong said.

The tower has been designed as a slender vertical form rising from a mixed-use podium, with COX Architecture positioning the development as a response to the evolving St Leonards and Crows Nest skyline.

“The purpose of the project is to facilitate the delivery of high-quality housing at a strategically located site and deliver a built tower outcome that is consistent with the desired future character of St Leonards and aligns with the TOD controls,” the design report stated.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="b1a85eee-76f7-436c-a6da-73ba827b9b13" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/atchinson%20entry.png?VersionId=dA9jHGPMcm.dDbwk4QfxqWiY5bfh3UVt" />

The podium would incorporate retail uses fronting Atchison Street, commercial tenancies, landscaped communal areas, and pedestrian improvements along Mitchell Street. Vehicle access and loading would be consolidated via Atchison Lane.

Residents would have access to more than 665 sqm of communal indoor and outdoor spaces, while the development proposes 96 parking spaces across five basement levels.

The proposal also includes a commitment for 10 per cent of residential floor space to be allocated toward affordable housing through a monetary contribution.

COX said the tower form responds directly to the emerging high-density character of the precinct while seeking to maximise solar access, cross ventilation, and outlook from apartments.

<img alt="First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2163f85c-f63b-4be3-aafa-f8763976cec5" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Article%20Feature%20Image%20%28Grid%29_5.png?VersionId=WiAmtIKJ6.ZQ41EtYEQ1fol7AeorKBlL" />

“The building is orientated towards north,” the Apartment Design Guide compliance report noted, adding that the tower’s slim form was driven by the constrained inner-urban site dimensions.

The design also incorporates landscaped setbacks and communal open space at podium level, intended to soften the interface with surrounding streets and improve pedestrian amenity.

The project adds to a growing wave of redevelopment proposals reshaping St Leonards and Crows Nest following the opening of the Sydney Metro City line and the NSW Government’s push for higher-density housing around major transport nodes.

Last week Stockland filed plans just down the road. They want to build a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/601-pacific-highway-st-leonards-nsw-2065">52-storey tower on Pacific Highway</a>.

Read more:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/news/nsw/first-look-stockland-plans-52-storey-538-apartment-st-leonards-tower">First look: Stockland plans 52-storey, 538-apartment St Leonards tower&nbsp;</a>

First look: SP Setia targets St Leonards skyline with 40-storey TOD tower

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/urban-property-group">Urban Property Group</a> has revealed plans for a new mixed-use tower at 10 Dangar Street, Wickham, advancing a proposal that would reshape the southern gateway to Newcastle’s city centre with one of the city’s tallest residential buildings.

The State Significant Development proposal, now on exhibition, seeks approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/bowline-10-dangar-street-wickham-nsw-2293">43-storey tower</a> immediately adjacent to the Newcastle Interchange. The project would deliver around 200 apartments, including 42 affordable housing dwellings, alongside 99 co-living units, a 171-room hotel, retail space, and new public domain integrated through the site.

The scheme marks a significant escalation of plans previously approved for the site. Urban Property Group took over the prominent 2,904 sqm parcel, where excavation and demolition had already commenced under an earlier consent for a 14-storey mixed-use development.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="58a96dd9-407f-4d20-86b4-94e4bfeef74b" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20podium.png?VersionId=LGlf08pdFGAZDzvx_CXC4XakHNZRuEE0" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/sjb-architects">SJB</a>, the tower has been conceived as a landmark transit-oriented development anchored to the Newcastle Interchange precinct. The proposal includes 245 build-to-sell apartments across a mix of one, two, and three-bedroom residences, as well as two penthouses. Fifteen apartments and one operational unit are earmarked for NDIS housing. The co-living component would add a further 99 units, while the podium would accommodate retail uses and hotel facilities.

SJB said the site presents “a valuable opportunity to anchor the precinct by setting the standard for design, active ground planes and character at the key southern gateway.”

The architecture responds directly to the site’s position beside major transport infrastructure and within one of Newcastle’s fastest-evolving urban renewal precincts. The tower form sits above a sculpted podium designed to frame new public spaces, including a through-site pedestrian link connecting Station Street to Hannell Street, landscaped plazas, and activated retail edges.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a7bd6ff0-f7db-4ce8-a6dc-ea56e72c6149" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20lanne.png?VersionId=xzf39VADyhj7zBQY2I9fx9vI62u2tuSb" />

The design report describes the project as part of the broader transition of Wickham into “a vibrant, high-quality mixed-use urban precinct” that leverages proximity to the station, open space, and regional connectivity.

A detailed public art strategy has also been prepared for the development. The strategy positions the project as “a transit-oriented development of state significance at the gateway to Newcastle’s city centre” and outlines a series of integrated artworks responding to Newcastle’s industrial and transport heritage.

Creative Road’s curatorial framework for the project, titled Unveil, draws on “stratified surfaces, carved volumes, and light-filled apertures” while referencing Newcastle’s transformation from an industrial city into a contemporary education and technology hub.

<img alt="First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s next supertower at Wickham interchange" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="77a882bb-14b1-4d28-99ff-9438e39508c0" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/wickham%20site.png?VersionId=cevgo_vN0eKPK78P8YcEu3mKPLkpFqE7" />

The proposal is being advanced through the NSW Housing Delivery Authority pathway after being declared State Significant Development in June 2025. The accompanying scoping report states the development aims to “maximise the site’s proximity to the Newcastle Interchange by delivering transit-oriented development” while increasing housing supply and affordable housing provision within the Newcastle LGA.

Urban Property Group’s plans align with the long-term strategic vision established under the Wickham Master Plan, which identified the interchange precinct as suitable for substantial uplift in height and density. The current proposal would significantly intensify that vision, positioning the tower among the tallest developments proposed for Newcastle.

The site sits immediately north of the Newcastle Interchange, bounded by Dangar Street, Hannell Street, and Charles Street. It is surrounded by a rapidly growing cluster of residential towers and mixed-use projects that have emerged following the completion of the light rail and transport interchange.

First look: Urban Property Group unveils Newcastle’s latest tower at Wickham interchange

Bottega House has completed settlement of a landmark riverfront site in Macquarie Street, St Lucia, representing its first major Brisbane development.&nbsp;

Positioned on the banks of the Brisbane River, the <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/180-macquarie-street-st-lucia-qld-4067">premium site at 180 Macquarie Street</a> features uninterrupted river frontage in one of Brisbane’s most tightly held residential precincts.&nbsp;

The proposed development, currently under assessment with Brisbane City Council, has been designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/plus-studio">Plus Studio</a> with interiors by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/mim-design">Mim Design</a> and will deliver a boutique collection of premium residences positioned specifically for owner occupiers and downsizers.&nbsp;

The residences are set to redefine luxury apartment living in the area, with a focus on architectural quality, refined finishes, landscape integration and elevated amenities including curated wellness facilities, resort-style pools and recreation spaces rarely seen in the local market.&nbsp;

Exclusive sales for the project will be led by Keenan &amp; Byrne, ahead of an anticipated launch later this year.&nbsp;

Bottega House Managing Director Nick Malloch said the project reflects the group’s ambition to deliver a highly curated residential offering within one of Brisbane’s most tightly held precincts.&nbsp;

“This is an incredibly rare riverfront opportunity and one we have approached with a long-term perspective,” Malloch said.&nbsp;

“Our vision from the outset was to create a boutique collection of residences that feel more like private homes than traditional apartments, with generous proportions, refined finishes and exceptional amenity throughout."

Malloch says there is a&nbsp;lack of premium owner-occupier stock of this quality in the market, particularly for downsizers wanting space, privacy and a true lifestyle offering without compromise.&nbsp;

"Demand is expected to be strong given the scarcity of premium riverfront opportunities of this nature within Brisbane’s inner-west."&nbsp;

Bottega House secures landmark riverfront site in St Lucia 

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The arrival of the first piling rig officially marks the commencement of construction at SIERA’s new beachside apartment development, Exhale, in Northcliffe.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/exhale-surfers-paradise-8-enderley-avenue-surfers-paradise-qld-4217">Exhale</a>, a glass-encased tower featuring 54 large-scale apartments at 8 Enderley Avenue, is SIERA’s third Gold Coast development. It follows the recently completed PIPIS Bilinga beachfront project, which achieved suburb-record prices, and the soon-to-be-completed Chevron Island development, Tapestry.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359603]

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/siera">SIERA</a> Founder and Managing Director Brent Thompson said the arrival of the piling rig represented a significant milestone for the development, which is scheduled for completion in late 2028.

Over the next month, around 260 piles are expected to be installed as work progresses on the basement structure. The building is anticipated to rise above ground level early next year, before unveiling its sculptural glass curtain wall, developed in collaboration with specialist façade engineers.

“The façade was designed to maximise panoramic coastal views while creating a distinctive architectural identity,” Thompson said.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=355935]

Designed by BDA Architecture, Exhale will comprise just 54 two- and three-bedroom residences across 26 levels, a level of low-density living rarely delivered in this beachside pocket between Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach.

The project has been conceived as a resident-only building, with no short-stay accommodation permitted. SIERA says the model is intended to appeal to long-term owner-occupiers rather than transient holiday demand.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=361052]

Residences have been designed with large-format layouts and expansive glazing, with most apartments featuring more than 30 metres of glass frontage to maximise natural light and ocean views.

The amenity offering spans two levels and centres on wellness and lifestyle, including a heated magnesium pool, sauna, yoga and Pilates studio, gymnasium, private dining facilities, cinema lounge, and dedicated surfcraft storage.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=112661 project_image_fid=359607]

More than half of the apartments have already sold. SIERA has also opened a sales gallery for Exhale at its Chevron Island commercial premises, near its Tapestry tower and the site of its second Chevron Island apartment development, which is slated to launch in early 2027.
</section>
</section>

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=112661]

SIERA kicks off construction at Northcliffe tower Exhale

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Queensland Treasury has warned of uncertainty in Brisbane's apartment market, especially if the southern markets of Sydney and Melbourne falter.
Both property taxes and mining royalties helped the Palaszczuk government revenue in yesterday's budget, with land tax receipts predicted to jump 11 per cent to $1.3 billion in 2018-19. Land tax thresholds have not been amended for a decade.
Stamp duty on transfers are estimated to rise 4 per cent to $3.2 billion, after a 5.7 per cent fall in 2017-18.
Payroll tax revenue was also expected to jump 5 per cent to $4.1 billion next financial year, with key sectors of construction, mining and manufacturing contributing to the growth, according to the budget papers.
Details revealed in Tuesday's Queensland budget indicate mining royalties are set to triple this year's expected surplus, rising from $485 million in the mid-year update to $1.51 billion.
"Domestically, uncertainty remains around the extent of oversupply in the apartment market, and any concurrent downturn in major southern capitals could exacerbate the downturn in Queensland," Treasury said in budget papers under "risks and opportunities".
Under the new taxes introduced in Tuesday's budget, foreign landowners will be slugged with an extra 0.5 per cent in land tax for properties worth more than $10 million plus an increase in the foreign transfer duty from 3 per cent to 7 per cent.
Both taxes will raise a total of $326 million over the next four years.
The First Home Owners Grant has been extended for another year, but reduced as foreshadowed to $15,000 and will not be extended to established homes.
The property sector received mixed news in the State Budget, handed down by Treasurer Jackie Trad, according to the REIQ.
“Taxing foreign buyers is a measure best suited to markets where affordability is an issue," the REIQ's chief Ms Antonia Mercorella said.
"That is not the case in Queensland."
“We have more than 550 suburbs throughout the state where the median house price is $500,000 or below and 132 of those suburbs are in Greater Brisbane.
"The REIQ was also disappointed that the State Government chose to drag its feet on stamp duty reform, ignoring expert advice that the stamp duty was a regressive, outdated form of property taxation that stifled housing mobility."
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j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

Uncertainty looms as foreigners taxed higher in Queensland budget

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EXPERT OBSERVATION
The latest annual taxation data shows that state and local government coffers were boosted by $52.5 billion in 2016-17 due to taxes on property.
Each year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) releases taxation statistics and the latest data for 2016-17 was released recently. Over the 2016-17 financial year, state and local governments collected $52.5 billion in taxes from property with the figure climbing by 5.9% over the year. The taxation take from property is now more than double what it was in 2005-06.
Property taxes accounted for an historic high 52.8% of all tax revenue for state and local governments, up from 51.9% over the previous year.
Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/5/4/taxes1.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/5/4/taxes1.jpg" alt="">
Property taxes are broken down into two broad types, taxes on immovable property and taxes on financial and capital transactions. Taxes on immovable property include: land tax, municipal rates and other smaller taxes. Taxes on financial and capital transactions include predominately stamp duties as well as a few other smaller taxes. Taxes on immovable property were recorded at $29.185 billion over the year with the remaining $23.338 billion being taxes on financial and capital transactions. Over the year, taxes on immovable property increased by 7.9% while taxes on financial and capital transactions increased by 3.6%.
The table highlights the value of taxation revenue between 2006-07 and 2016-17 across each state and territory for land tax, municipal rates and stamp duty, which are the three largest sources of taxation revenue at the state and local government level. Probably the most notable change over the period has been the uplift in revenue, particularly from stamp duty, in NSW and Vic which reflects the strength of these housing markets over the past decade relative to other states and territories.
Between 2006-07 and 2016-17, stamp duty revenue in NSW has increased by 115% and it has increased by 114% in Vic. Revenue from land taxes have doubled over the period in Vic (153%), Qld (123%) and WA (125%) while revenue from municipal rates has doubled over the period in WA (125%) and ACT (184%).
In NSW, stamp duty revenue accounted for 49.1% of all property tax revenue in 2016-17 up from a recent low of 32.3% in 2008-09. It is a similar story in Vic where stamp duty revenue accounted for 42.6% of property tax revenue, up from a recent low of 36.5% in 2012-13. The cyclical nature of housing market transactions makes stamp duty a volatile source of revenue for state governments. Another way to look at this is in WA where the housing market has been weak for a number of years, stamp duty revenue accounted for just 28.5% of all property related tax revenue in 2016-17 down from a peak of 54.5% in 2007-08.
Click here <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2018/5/4/taxes2.jpg" target="_blank">to enlarge.</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2018/5/4/taxes2.jpg" alt="">
From here, we are now seeing the combined effect of dwelling values and transaction numbers falling in Sydney and Melbourne along with a number of regional areas of NSW. Both the NSW and Vic governments have benefitted substantially from stamp duty revenue over recent years and it now appears set to fall over the coming years as the housing market weakens after a number of years of surging values.
With a volatile source of taxation revenue such as stamp duty that taxes the small proportion of individuals that transact property each year, moving away from a transactional tax to a tax on all physical properties seems to make a lot of sense. Especially considering transaction volumes remain well below their peak and stamp duty revenue growth is largely being driven by higher values rather than a greater number of transactions.
Of course the transition to a broad based land tax will be difficult and recent owners may have to be compensated however, a more guaranteed source of revenue for state and territory governments means that they can much better plan for the future rather than being reliant on dwelling values and transactions remaining high in order to boost revenue.
Over the second half of 2017 and into 2018 we have seen residential housing markets weaken with values and transactions falling, particularly in NSW and Vic. As a result we would expect over the current financial year that stamp duty revenue will fall and as a result so will total property taxation revenue.
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ckusher-ujnxiKuFQs

Property tax revenue continues to climb: Cameron Kusher

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The Gold Coast millionaire businessman and property developer Michael Issakidis has been sentenced to a decade in jail for his involvement in a $135 million tax evasion case, the largest ever successfully prosecuted in Australia.
Issakidis and his co-conspirator, former Ernst &amp; Young executive Anthony Dickson, used a web of companies to evade corporate tax.
The Supreme Court of NSW handed Issakidis the jail sentence, including a non-parole period of seven years and six months, on Thursday.
The frail 73-year-old faced a sentence hearing in the NSW Supreme Court after a jury found him guilty in June last year. There had been four trials.
The Federal Revenue Minister Kelly O'Dwyer said it was the "largest and one of the most complex investigations into tax fraud in Australia's history".
Issakidis had been allowed to return to his Sovereign Island mansion after posting bail of $1.5 million in 2016.
But the authorities held on to more than $40 million in assets including his prestige vehicle collection of several Rolls-Royces, a Lamborghini and an Aston Martin along with two yachts, which were seized during the Australian Federal Police raid (pictured above and below).
Issakidis was arrested at his waterfront mansion and charged with conspiracy to deal in the proceeds of crime and conspiracy to dishonestly cause a loss to the Australian Taxation Office.
The Federal Police allege Issakidis committed tax fraud through his medical company Neumedix and funnelled company funds through offshore accounts.
He initially faced Southport Magistrates Court, where he was refused bail and extradited to Sydney. He’d then been granted bail on the condition he live at his Paradise Point home.
The Australian Federal Police and Australian Tax Office said the arrest was after a seven-month investigation under Project Wickenby, the federal government's pursuit of wealthy alleged tax evaders.
The website of NeuMedix said Michael Issakidis was the commercial connoisseur for NeuMedix.
“A consummate statesman and pragmatist, Michael's legal background coupled with many years of property development provides a tempered prudence when assessing opportunities.”
After their move from Sydney, his wife, the Gold Coast socialite Donrika, once starred in a memorable 60 Minutes segment on the A-List on the Gold Coast in the 1990s. With a downwards sweep of her hand, she indicated she was dressed in "Chanel, Chanel, Chanel."
Issakidis and his wife were unconscious in their car after he failed to turn up to court to be sentenced last October. They were discovered after 22 hours by his brother, Con.
Crown prosecutor Michel McHugh SC noted in court, referring to a psychiatric report, that Issakidis said he was not depressed and that when the couple attempted suicide "we were just two people who wanted to be together".
It's expected he'll apply to be transferred to a Queensland prison on welfare grounds.
The businessman's barrister, Mike Smith, noted that Dickson had been found to be "the predominant player and motivating force behind the conspiracy.
<div class="cq-article-content-paras section">
Dickson was in 2015 sentenced to 11 years' jail, which was later increased to 14 years on appeal. His sentence was the longest ever handed down for tax fraud and money-laundering.
The pair created a web of false identities to aid their deception and siphoned money through the UK, Hong Kong and the UAE via fake domestic and international companies. They deliberately absorbed $450 million of otherwise assessable income through falsely created losses in order to evade $135 million. They profited to the tune of $63 million, spending the money on lavish lifestyles.
The complexity of the offshore companies involved and the fact they were based in secrecy jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands made the investigation difficult, but sources described the AFP officers involved as "relentless" in the pursuit of both Dickson and Issakidis.
At the centre of the scam was Neumedix Health Australasia Pty Ltd. Issakidis and Dickson caused Neumedix to fake losses on the acquisition of medical technologies. They then used those losses to avoid tax on income generated on the ownership of units in a number of trusts.
</div>
<div class="cq-article-content-media section">"These trusts generated very large taxable profits from their participation in certain financing transactions that were arranged between the offender, ANZ and some of its clients," according to court documents obtained by the Australian Financial Review.</div>
 
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Gold Coast property developer Michael Issakidis jailed for tax evasion

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GUEST OBSERVER
The federal government announced a year ago that it would review the charges imposed on drivers for using our roads. That review hasn’t yet happened. They should get on with it, because reforming the way we charge road users will make our economy more productive and our cities more liveable. The longer we wait, the harder the path to those improvements becomes.
The problem with the present system is that there is only a weak link between what motorists pay and the costs they create when they use roads. The amount motorists pay for registration, for example, does not vary with the amount of time they spend on the road, let alone how long they’re stuck in traffic jams.
But before we get to the benefits of reforming how drivers pay for the costs of their road use, we need to debunk a big myth about road funding in Australia. It’s one that has become a major distraction in discussions about the need for change.
The myth of the fuel excise crisis
Vehicle technology is improving. Cars are becoming more fuel-efficient, and powering them with electricity is becoming more mainstream. At the same time, our commuting patterns are changing – over the past few years, the average distance Australians travel by car has fallen.
This is worrying the government, which collects fuel excise from us every time we fill the car with petrol. Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher has specifically raised concerns that: "the revenue from fuel excise and car registration is unlikely to keep pace with the amount we spend as a nation on operating, maintaining and investing in roads."
The government’s key economic advisory body, the Productivity Commission, recently suggested reform of the fuel excise levy was “becoming more urgent”. But talk of a funding crisis is overblown.
First, the minister knows that the government doesn’t, and can’t, segregate revenue from road use to spend on roads. Federal spending on infrastructure is funded from general government revenue, the pool of funds received from the full range of federal taxes. As far as the government is concerned, road funding is just one of many expense programs claiming a piece of the budget pie.
As for revenue from the fuel excise, the decision in 2014 to reintroduce indexation will deliver much-needed relief for the government. The truth is, revenue did not fall much over the past decade and the levy now increases each year in line with inflation. The government may cry poor, but it can’t cry broke.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/196051/original/file-20171123-6013-158o9e3.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
So, do we still need that long-promised review?
Fuel excise revenue is not the problem the government would have you think it is. But its promised review remains important because reforming road-user charges would bring big benefits for Australia.
The disconnect between what motorists pay and the costs of their road use matters because traffic congestion is the main cost that cars create when they use existing roads. The regular wear and tear of our roads is overwhelmingly caused by trucks and other heavy vehicles; cars do negligible damage to paved roads.
An existing mechanism ensures that trucks are charged for their wear and tear on roads. What’s needed is an equivalent mechanism to ensure that cars are charged for the costs they create by adding to congestion.
As we describe in our report Stuck in traffic? Road congestion in Sydney and Melbourne, such a mechanism would mean charging people who drive at peak times on congested roads a small fee.
People who pay the charge would get a quicker and more reliable trip, because there would be fewer cars on the road at peak times. People who can travel outside of the peaks would not have to pay, because there would be no congestion charge when the roads are not congested. Because traffic flows would be spread more evenly across all hours of the day, our economy would become more efficient and our cities more liveable.
Critics of these decongestion schemes argue that charging motorists in this way is unfair. Why should low-income earners or those living on the fringes of our major cities, they argue, be hit with a new charge for something they can’t avoid when they go to work?
It’s a valid concern, but our report suggests it is entirely feasible to redesign motor vehicle charges in ways that actually make them fairer.
A key element of fairness is that any new congestion charge should be offset by reducing or removing vehicle registration charges. The goal should be to change how we pay for roads, not how much we pay. Developing such options is precisely what the long-promised review should do.
This reform would allow us to get the greatest value from the road network we already have, before we ask taxpayers and motorists to pay for constructing big and expensive new roads.
Time to get the show on the road
If we don’t make changes, congestion and delays on the roads in our biggest cities will only get worse. The government should provide terms of reference for the review before Christmas. These terms should acknowledge the importance of developing options for charging motorists for the congestion they cause.
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/87931/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1">In doing so, it will be important to resolve how the range of state-levied taxes on motorists, including existing and prospective toll roads, might fit within new charging arrangements. Only then should the review turn to the question of how many expensive new roads the states should be building.
Marion Terrill, Transport Program Director, Grattan Institute and Hugh Batrouney, Senior Associate, Grattan Institute.
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/delay-in-changing-direction-on-how-we-tax-drivers-will-cost-us-all-87931" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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Delay in changing direction on how we tax drivers will cost us all: Grattan Institute

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Apartment owners in New South Wales who let out their apartments or even their spare rooms on sites such as Airbnb and Stayz may have to pay compensation to their neighbours.
The compensation targets "party houses" to reduce noise.
A plan before the state government also suggests the owners pay extra strata funds in an attempt to regulate the thriving short let market.
Sydney holds 17,000 of the 40,000 airbnb listings in New South Wales.
The state government is considering limiting the number of days a property can be let out without needing a development application.
Planning Minister Anthony Roberts told the Daily Telegraph it was a complex issue.
“We believe by engaging with those most affected we can achieve the right balance of what level of regulation is required to best meet the needs of the community," he said.
Airbnb’s Brent Thomas said the company injected “half a billion dollars” into the state’s economy and created more than 4400 jobs.
“The current rules for home sharing in NSW are confusing, complex and were written before the internet existed,” he said.
Director of government affairs Jordan Condo said the NSW Government must not forget that short-term rental accommodation injected $2.1 billion into the economy last year.
He said much of the $2.1 billion was injected in regional New South Wales.
According to the news.com.au the average Airbnb host in New South Wales earns $4,400 a year sharing their home.
<div class="story-intro">
The options paper will be open to public consultation for three months while the government decides what to do with the industry estimated to be worth $31 billion nationally.
 
 
 
 
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jrobinson-rf4aSBido9

Airbnb hosts in New South Wales to face nuisance tax

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EXPERT OBSERVER
Studies of European countries show that bank taxes similar to the 0.06% bank levy introduced by the government in the 2017 federal budget will be largely borne by customers, not shareholders.
The levy could also make the banking system more, rather than less risky. The fact that a bank is asked to pay the levy is a confirmation that it is “too big to fail”. This could in turn encourage riskier behaviour. The levy might also trigger a higher probability of default by reducing a bank’s after-tax profitability
But it is difficult to say whether banks will pass the levy on to customers by increasing their loan rates, fees or both.
In its response to the levy, NAB confirmed it will not just be borne by shareholders:
The levy is not just on banks, it is a tax on every Australian who benefits from, and is part of, the banking industry. This includes NAB’s 10 million customers, 570,000 direct NAB shareholders, those who own NAB shares through their superannuation, our 1,700 suppliers and NAB’s 34,000 employees. The levy cannot be absorbed; it will be borne by these people.
Aware of this problem, the government has asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to undertake an inquiry into residential mortgage pricing. The ACCC can require banks to explain changes to mortgage pricing and fees.
When banks pass on these taxes
The bank levy is similar to taxes recently introduced by some G20 economies, including the UK. These had the dual purpose of raising revenues and stabilising the balance sheets of large banks in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.
An analysis of bank taxes in the UK and 13 other European Union countries shows that the extent to which taxes are passed on to customers depends on how concentrated the banking industry is.
The more the industry is dominated by a small number of banks, the greater the share of the tax that is passed on to customers and the less that is borne by shareholders. In more concentrated industries customers have relatively fewer alternative options and therefore tend to be less mobile across banks. This in turn gives the large banks greater market power to increase interest rates and fees without losing customers.
Australia’s banking industry is quite concentrated. In fact, we’re around the middle of the pack of OECD countries, much higher than the US, but lower than some European countries. From this we can surmise that at least some of the cost of the bank levy here will be passed on to borrowers through higher loan rates, fees or both.
An IMF study of G20 countries suggests that a levy of 20 basis points (i.e. 0.2%, approximately three times higher than the Australian government’s bank levy), could lead to an increase in loan rates of between 5 and 10 basis points. This means that the monthly repayment on a loan (assuming an initial rate of 5.5%) would increase by approximately A$6 for every A$100,000 borrowed.
The IMF also found that the bank levy doesn’t just hit customers. A 0.2% levy would reduce banks’ asset growth rate by approximately 0.05% and permanently lower real GDP by 0.3%.
The impact on customers
If the banks pass on the levy to customers then it becomes just another indirect tax, similar to the GST. The question then is whether this is regressive - does it have a greater impact on those on lower incomes than higher incomes.
Lower income earners are likely to borrow less than higher income earners. However, lower income earners are also less able to bear an interest rate increase. They are also more likely to be excluded from borrowing when the cost of borrowing increases.
In this sense, then, if the bank levy is passed on to customers it could become a barrier to home ownership for some lower income borrowers.
More generally, if the value of bank transactions is a higher proportion of low incomes than of high incomes, then the bank levy would operate as a regressive tax and contribute to sharpening (rather than smoothing) inequalities.
Both of these would be unintended, but undesirable, consequences of the levy.
Fabrizio Carmignani is a Professor at Griffith Business School, Griffith University. 
Ross Guest is a Professor of Economics and National Senior Teaching Fellow, Griffith University.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/77782/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="font-size: 12.16px; line-height: 1.3em;">
All authors are for <a href="https://theconversation.com/research-shows-the-banks-will-pass-the-bank-levy-on-to-customers-77782" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Research shows the banks will pass the bank levy on to customers

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Taxation revenue from property continues to climb, according to CoreLogic’s latest Property Pulse.
The property data firm says that revenue earned from property taxes has seen a bolstering of state and local government bank accounts with the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showing that state and local governments nationally collected $49.567 billion (51.9 percent) of their total taxation revenue from property, a record high proportion and 9.6 percent higher over the year.
Stamp duty on conveyances accounted for the largest overall proportion of property tax revenue.
Over the 2015-16 financial year, state and local governments raised $20.607 billion in revenue from stamp duty, accounting for 41.6 percent of total property tax revenue.
According to CoreLogic research analyst Cameron Kusher, as a proportion of total property tax revenue, stamp duty has previously been higher however, over the past few years there has been a substantial increase in the value of revenue collected from stamp duty.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/04/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-04%20at%2011.08.45%20am.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/05/04/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-04%20at%2011.08.45%20am.jpg" alt="">
He said, “It is pretty easy to see what booming housing markets do for state government coffers with the NSW and Vic governments seeing stamp duty revenues surge.
Of course, when the housing market isn’t booming it has a substantial impact on stamp duty revenue, see NSW and Vic in 2008-09 and WA more recently.
The uncertainty surrounding stamp duty and its dependence on stock turnover makes it an inefficient and volatile source of taxation revenue.
Because stamp duty is only collected from properties which transact, the state governments are relying on values and transactions rising across the 5% to 7% of properties which turnover in any given year to drive their major source of property tax revenue.”
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/04/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-04%20at%2011.08.55%20am.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/05/04/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-04%20at%2011.08.55%20am.jpg" alt="">
CoreLogic also noted that the three largest sources of property tax revenue; land tax, municipal rates and stamp duties on conveyances, accounted for 90.3% of all property related tax revenue to state and local governments in 2015-16 and 46.9% of total taxation revenue.
Mr Kusher said, “We already know that $20.607 billion in tax revenue came from stamp duty on conveyances, a further $7.237 billion came from land taxes and $16.924 billion came from municipal rates.”
“Land taxes and municipal rates are much more guaranteed income streams than the more volatile stamp duty on conveyances.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/04/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-04%20at%2011.09.06%20am.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/05/04/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-04%20at%2011.09.06%20am.jpg" alt="">
For this reason, it would make sense to move from stamp duty to a much more efficient, easier to collect and holistic land tax.
The reality is that any such move is unlikely to be supported by the NSW and Vic governments currently given how much revenue these states continue to rake in due to the ongoing housing booms in Sydney and Melbourne,” he said.
<a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/images/2017/05/04/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-04%20at%2011.09.12%20am.jpg" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/po.images/2017/05/04/Screen%20Shot%202017-05-04%20at%2011.09.12%20am.jpg" alt="">
Cameron Kusher is research analyst for CoreLogic. You can contact him <a href="https://blog.corelogic.com.au/about/">here</a>.
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jonathanchancellor-7SQnKwU6yx

Tax revenue from property continues to climb: CoreLogic

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Self-managed superannuation funds would be banned from borrowing money under an expanded housing affordability policy being unveiled by federal Labor today as unchecked growth could pose a threat to the nation's financial system stability over the long term due to growing exposure to bad investments.
The new measures will include adopting a nationally consistent Vacant Residential Property Tax, as recently imposed by the Victorian government, to curb investors buying properties and leaving them vacant.
Labor will also double the fines imposed on foreign investors who illegally purchase residential real estate. 
Victoria to tax owners for leaving homes vacant as it tackles housing crisis
Labor leader Bill Shorten and Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen have a new suite of seven measures that will add to Labor's existing policy to curb capital gains tax concessions and negative gearing.
A Labor government would adopt a Coalition proposal to establish a bond aggregator, which provides a larger and cheaper pool of funds for the private sector to build community housing.
It will reappoint a housing minister.
Since September 2013, when the Coalition came to power, prices in Sydney have increased by nearly 50 per cent and by more than 30 per cent in Melbourne.
Residential vacancy rates in the Sydney metropolitan market have sunk to 1.9 percent, while Melbourne's vacancy rate fell to a 10 year low in February to 1.7 percent. 
Former banker David Murray recommended in his 2014 Financial System Inquiry that a general ban on borrowing by SMSFs, which was lifted in 2007, be restored. Since 2012, borrowings by self-managed funds has grown from $2.5 billion to $24 billion, of which 91 per cent, or almost $22 billion has been for residential and commercial property.
<div>
"In addition, borrowing by superannuation funds implicitly transfers some of the downside risks to taxpayers, who underwrite adverse outcomes in the superannuation system through the provision of the age pension," his inquiry said.
Mr Shorten said restoring the general ban on borrowing would "help cool an overheated housing market partly driven by wealthy Self-Managed Super Funds".
</div>
<div>"The government has simply ignored this recommendation while housing risks have been building in the economy on their watch," says Labor's policy document, in an advance briefing to the Australian Financial Review.</div>
<div>
"Ignoring this recommendation would also leave the budget more exposed over time.
"This measure will prevent the unnecessary build-up of risk in Australia's superannuation system, reduce future calls on the aged pension as a result of a less diversified superannuation system, and make the financial system more resilient on the face of potential economic shocks." 
What Victoria’s new vacant property tax means to you: Juwai's Gavin Norris
</div>
<div>
Labor will stick with its existing policy of halving the 50 per cent capital gains tax exemption for property investors to 25 per cent and restricting future negative gearing to new homes only.
Labor's plan to double foreign investor fees will result in new charges of between $10,000 and $40,600, depending on the value of the property.
</div>
<div>The new criminal penalties for breaching FIRB rules on residential real estate will be $270,000 for an individual and $1.35 million for a company. The civil penalty will be the greater of either 20 per cent of the purchase price or 20 per cent of the market value of the property. </div>
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Vacancy tax to go national under new Labor tax

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The next budget could see an end to stamp duty with a land tax replacing it, potentially saving home buyers up to $40,000 in Sydney and $55,000 in Melbourne.
The costing will put land tax back up for debate when Parliament returns next week as the government looks at he Parliamentary Budget Office proposal, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Housing affordability has been a focal point of both the federal and state governments, with Treasurer Scott Morrison talking of a housing affordability package in the May budget.
Both the NSW and Victorian governments are backing a reform of the stamp duty and Morrison has indicated his support for a transition to taxing land.
"When you talk about tax reform, this is far and away the biggest prize on offer," John Daley, the chief executive of independent think tank the Grattan Institute, was cited as saying by Fairfax Media.
Home buyers currently pay tens of thousands of dollars in stamp duty, which along with the deposit has made property almost unaffordable in Sydney and Melbourne.
Removing stamp duty and implementing an annual land tax on all newly purchased homes would help level the playing field and generate billions of dollars in annual returns to the NSW and Victorian budgets, while also relieving federal government spending over a 15-year-period, according to the proposal.
Under the policy submitted by the Greens and backed by the Grattan Institute and the Council of the Ageing, home buyers would no longer stump up to $40,000 in stamp duty when purchasing a property worth $1 million in Sydney. 
In Melbourne, a home buyer would save $55,000 stamp duty on a property of the same value.
Research from the Grattan Institute shows an annual tax of $1 per every $1000 of a home's value would cost the median Sydney household $845 a year in tax and the median Melbourne home $623 a year.
To offset the cost of losing lucrative stamp duty payments, the Commonwealth would have to loan money to the states. The loans would peak in 2020 when the hit to the budget bottom line would grow to $800 million. Rising land tax revenues would enable the states to pay back the loan by 2030.
The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that in the next four years alone the tax would generate $2.3 billion in revenue for the states, but warned the overall costings were of low reliability due to the variations in number of properties sold across Australia each year.
Greens Leader Richard Di Natale said the prospect of property ownership had turned into a nightmare for many young people.
The median house price in Sydney is well over $1 million.
"Together with Capital Gains and negative gearing reforms, swapping stamp duty for a broad-based land tax would fix the broken system and make it easier for young people to live the Australian dream," said John Daley, The Grattan Institute.
In December, Morrison pushed the states to transition to a land tax at the state and federal treasurers meeting.
Recently, the Victorian government removed stamp duty for first home buyers for properties below $600,000.
In NSW, there are concessions on stamp duty for new properties under $650,000.
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Next budget suggestion could see an end to stamp duty

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Taxes, fees, levies and other government charges are "the lead in the saddlebag" for housing affordability, according to the Housing Industry Association's (HIA) chief executive – industry policy and media, Graham Wolfe.
“Housing affordability will not be addressed by political point scoring around negative gearing or capital gains tax,” he said.
“It’s a distracting and lazy debate and one where all three levels of government point a finger at each other, when it’s a fact that around 40% of the cost of a new home is taxation.”
“Increasing the supply of new housing is an obvious key to improving housing affordability.
“But retaining the enormous taxation burden on the cost of new homes is an anathema to addressing the problem.”
Wolfe is responsible for the lobbying group's policy development, media and advocacy functions and has been pushing the government to reform its taxation policies towards the industry.
“It’s the taxes and levies that are charged on every new home that overwhelmingly defeat all attempts to reduce housing costs,” he said.
“Yet housing, a basic requirement that all Australians should be able to access, is taxed more heavily than other parts of the economy.”
“State based stamp duty on the purchase of a typical new home alone adds a $91 per month burden on household mortgage repayments.”
“On average, families in NSW will pay considerably more – every month for the life of their home loan.
“Residential investment in housing has made a considerable contribution to arresting rental costs for thousands of families.
“Particularly in NSW where new supply has moderated rental increases over the past two years.”
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