Opposition Leader Jeremy Hanson will on Thursday announce plans for a four-year halt to the charge for activity in the city and town centres of Tuggeranong, Woden, Belconnen and Gungahlin.

Mr Hanson said removing the charge, imposed when a property is converted for increased profit, would see more budget revenue raised from increased development than is currently collected as a penalty.

He couldn't say how much extra revenue would be added to the territory's bottom line through the policy.

The plan, formulated with shadow treasurer Brendan Smyth, comes after years of criticism of the charge from the Liberals and ACT Property Council boss Catherine Carter.

Mr Hanson said the lease variation, first introduced by Labor in July 2011, had stifled growth by increasing the cost of new developments and stopped renewal around the city and the suburbs. He likened the charge to the mining tax introduced by the former Labor federal government.

The party's costings document said average annual revenue collected from the charge since 2011 was $795,000 in the city; $197,000 in Belconnen; $776,000 in Woden; $555,000 in Tuggeranong and $136,000 in Gungahlin.

Mr Hanson also forecast more opposition announcements about the lease variation arrangements before the election.

The government's 2015-16 budget papers show the charge raised $14.2 million territory-wide last financial year, forecast to increase to $16.3 million this year. The increase comes as temporary freeze introduced in a stimulus package expires in March.

Estimated growth by 2018-19 would see the charge raise $18.1 million, according to the budget papers.

"We need to get the cranes back, we need to get the people back and we need to bring density to our town centres and our city centre," Mr Hanson said.

"The lease variation charge has been a tax on renewal, a tax on development. It has stopped activity that would otherwise have happened."

The announcement has been timed to coincide with a Property Council forum to discuss Canberra's central business district on Thursday. Last month a council report called for financial constraints, including the charge, to be removed to improve aging and unwanted commercial office stock.

"There are massive missed opportunities in the CBD and in town centres," Mr Hanson said.

"If we want to renew our town centres, if we want to renew Civic, it is the developers who will do that. At the moment, what we are being told, not just by the Property Council, is that people are going elsewhere to spend their money, to invest and build."

Mr Hanson said the cost of the lease variation was being passed on to new home owners and therefore driving up prices and lowering demand.

"We expect that this will actually bring in more revenue to the Treasury than would be lost by removing the tax, but that's only one component of this," he said.

"This is about building our city and making sure we have genuine urban renewal."

The government has used Assembly debate to argue the charge captures fair value from private use of land owned by the community.

Lease variation charge revenue is used for the government's urban improvement program.