This submission addresses two of the instruments under consultation. On the draft Income Tax Assessment (Method for Apportioning Capital Gains and Capital Losses) Determination 2026, we identify two defects in the prescribed method as it applies to real property — the...
The 2019 Federal Election is only a few days away… But how can you maximise your vote to shift the tax system away from unproductive rent seeking? Which parties have the best policies to deter land speculation, and reduce wealth inequality from inflated land prices?...
Have you ever wondered what oversight is provided to ensure investors place their properties on the market at market rents? Or do some push rents higher so they fail to rent and NG writeoffs are accentuated? Recently the Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson had the...
The proper function of the property industry is to keep the productive economy housed as cheaply as possible, so that investment in future production is not crowded out by the cost of occupying space — that is, by the cost of mere existence. To serve this purpose, the...
The debate over tax policy in Australia has reached fairly mediocre levels. The best the Federal Government can muster is a company tax cut, which they intend to by stealth replace with income tax via bracket creep. Meanwhile the natural bounty of land is ever...
By Matt Ellis reposted from RationalRadical Dear Prime Minister Turnbull, I am writing to belatedly and publicly call your bluff on your so called ‘innovation agenda’, which forms a key plank of your ‘Plan’ for jobs and growth. There are all kinds of reasons to be...
... A Turnbull victory will entrench the bidding advantage of investors over owner-occupants, even for established homes. The age of home ownership as we know it is coming to an end. The age of investor hegemony is here. From now on, for a typical first home buyer,...
On Friday May the 13th the entire real estate industry launched into full attack-mode against those willing to reform negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount. The ALP and the Greens have both announced reforms targeting the subsidy to landed interests....
Australia’s premier TV current affairs program 4 Corners has a reputation for game-changing. Thoughtful analysis and a giant audience will do that. When it thunders, the time has arrived for a full reset. Last night’s episode ‘Home Truths’ lanced The Great Australian...
President Catherine Cashmore has been busy with the 4 Corners team filming a number of scenes around Melbourne. Tonight we find out which scenes make national TV in a much overdue investigation into the pressure housing affordability places on society. Thanks to all...