New taxes to help pay down the Andrews government’s skyrocketing debt bill will collectively raise $8.6 billion over the next four years.
This increase is partly due to the newly introduced COVID debt levies, which are aimed at paying down the state’s debt pile . There is also going to be extra payroll tax on businesses with national payrolls above $10 million, which is expected to rake in $836 million. The COVID debt levy on these businesses is on top of a mental health and wellbeing levy that was introduced in 2021.
But all these sources of revenue pale in comparison to how much the state government receives from federal government grants, which are expected to account for about $42 billion next year.Victoria’s net debt will rise from $135.4 billion next year to $171.4 billion by 2027, which is the equivalent of 24.5 per cent of the state economy.