Pepper Money Involved in Victorian Government's Commercial and Industrial Property Tax Reform Transition Loan Program

Stamp duty will be progressively phased out on commercial and industrial properties from 1 July 2024, with the CIPT to apply 10 years after the property is next sold.

As part of the CIPT reform purchasers will incur a one-time final stamp duty and eligible purchasers will have the option to either use their own finances to pay the property’s final stamp duty or finance it through a transition loan from TCV.

The transition loan will allow purchasers to make annual loan repayments over 10 years, equivalent to the property’s final stamp duty liability plus interest allowing them to spread out payments over time with a fixed, market-based interest rate, calculated at the start of the loan.

Detailed information on the transition loan including how to apply, loan terms and eligibility and can be found on TCV’s website.

Pepper Money has been engaged by TCV to assist with the administration of this new Transition Loan Program.

Mario Rehayem, CEO of Pepper Money said, “We are proud to be entrusted with such an integral role in the administration of the new Commercial and Industrial Property Tax Reform Transition Loan Program. Not only is this a promising policy for Victorian SMEs, but our involvement appropriately aligns with Pepper Money's ongoing commitment towards helping people succeed.

We are leveraging our expertise in credit and loan servicing, along with our in-house purpose-built technology to implement the program. This will include loan establishment, credit assessment, settlement, and ongoing servicing of the transition loans, as well as administration services for TCV.

The provision of a frictionless customer experience during credit decisioning and settlement is a core value proposition offered by Pepper Money. TCV transition loan applicants will have access to the end-to-end digital application experience that can be executed at their convenience at any time of the day or night. This technology will be integral to the TCV Transition Loan Program, leveraging Pepper Money’s experience in both building and maintaining digital platforms.”

Approved applicants will be managed using Pepper Money’s purpose-built technology solutions and experienced customer service teams. Pepper Money has extensive experience and sophisticated capabilities in third party servicing with over 30 third party originators who use Pepper Money to facilitate their branded loan portfolio.

Michael Larkin, CEO of TCV said,

We are very excited to be working with Pepper Money to deliver the Transition Loan Program to help benefit Victorian businesses.

Mr Rehayem added, “We welcome and support the reform which aligns to our mission of helping people to succeed, the transition loan spreads payments out over ten years to help Victorian businesses manage cash flow.

“The loan now offers eligible businesses greater opportunity to invest, grow and expand. The capital could be invested in expanding operations sooner, hiring more staff, or simply alleviating some of the pressures businesses are currently facing.”

Mr Rehayem said the CIPT reform is a major change to Victoria’s tax system and industry practitioners should be prepared to support their Victorian based SME clients: “It's crucial for finance professionals including brokers, accountants, financial planners, conveyancers, and solicitors to understand the new reform and be capable of articulating the options with their clients."

For more information about the CIPT reform, please visit:

https://www.sro.vic.gov.au/commercial-and-industrial-property-tax

For more information about the CIPT Transition Loan Program, please visit:

https://www.tcv.vic.gov.au/property-tax-reform