Labor revs Ferrari tax – LNP spends up, denies job cuts

will introduce four new taxes if re-elected, saying people who own a Ferrari, a Maserati or a Lamborghini can afford to pay a bit more.

But Treasurer Curtis Pitt maintains fewer than 1 per cent of taxpayers would be affected.

Labor and the LNP announced their policy costings just hours apart yesterday.

The LNP promised lower taxes but revealed $1.6 billion worth of “efficiency programs” that shadow treasurer Scott Emerson denied included job cuts.

Costings revealed LNP made $4.36 billion in election promises compared to Labor’s $2.78 billion.

Mr Pitt said a Labor government would target gambling agencies based overseas as well as increasing the luxury car tax and a foreign acquirer duty.

He said the new gambling tax would not impact newsagencies or Tatts Group wagering arrangements, instead targeting overseas agencies such as Lottoland.

A new land tax category would cover 850 large properties worth above $10 million, at a rate of 2.25 per cent for individuals and 2.5 per cent for trusts, companies or absentee landholders. The tax will not include farms.

The luxury car tax would increase $2 per $100 of dutiable value for new cars sold for more than $100,000.

Transfer duty surcharge would increase from 3 per cent to 7 per cent for foreign buyers.

“The new measures mean our commitments will be delivered without cuts to frontline services, without mass sackLABOR ings or asset sales and without increasing other taxes that directly impact on the cost of living for average Queensland households,” Mr Pitt said.

Labor would also introduce a 1 per cent public service “reprioritising” – but Mr Pitt denied that meant job cuts. He said Labor would reduce contractor use, instead using public servants to do that work.

Just hours later, shadow treasurer Scott Emerson released a $1.6 billion “efficiency program”.

“We’re saying to the departments ... we expect you to save less than one cent in every dollar. We think they can do that,” he said.

Mr Emerson said the LNP would not introduce mandatory redundancies or change existing voluntary redundancy programs.

The LNP costings revealed $2.335 billion would be reallocated from 20 existing government programs including Skilling Queenslanders for Work.

The party would reallocate about $2.5 billion Labor set aside for the Cross River Rail to other projects, to help pay for more than $4.3 billion worth of election commitments.