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| Hernan Pinera |
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The Climate Fund Under Our Feet – this Thursday!
Thursday February 26th, 6.30pm
Level 2, 22 Punch Lane, Melbourne
Presenter: Karl Fitzgerald
RSVP
As resource scarcity is compounded by rising housing debts and a democratic system auctioned off to the highest bidder, a new perspective is needed to bind seemingly disparate challenges into a unified system of analysis.
For genuine sustainability to be attained, dozens of changes are needed in a manner that does not drown the economy in green tape. How could we finance a world class train network whilst encouraging urban infill? Provide tax incentives for science as we manage fisheries more sustainably?
Join 3CR’s Renegade Economist Karl Fitzgerald for a dynamic presentation on the economics of possibility. This workshop is part of the Sustainable Living Festival. Make sure you check out the program and catch some of the great events and workshops happening all around Melbourne until March 1st.
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| Boomer Welfare – and the Path to Reform
The reluctance of politicians to even mention the family home in tax reform discussions means baby boomers are getting richer and richer, while Gen X and Y drift further behind. Karl Fitzgerald analyses the “sacred cow” in this snappy analysis of boomer welfare.
The bigger question is how we get beyond superannuation handouts and onto the big inter-generational issue – home ownership. Some 30 years of State and Federal tax inquiries have largely been supportive of our stated desire to replace taxes on the productive sector with those on economic rents ie land and mining. However, well meaning tax inquiries fall over due to vested interests polluting the public interest.
Boomer property investments are enjoying a further fillip by the foreign investors currently surging into Australian real estate. Our foreign investment future is discussed at Prosper.
For Australia, the much vaunted housing supply mantra is being undermined by foreign investment in new homes. New re-zonings are being snapped up off the plan as a safehaven to park money. The mobility of capital is set to increase alongside technology, ensuring the commodification of housing escalates as the global housing marketplace matures. Housing supply alone cannot keep up with international demand for a commodity returning (barely taxed) huge capital gains.
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| Danist Soh |
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Collyer on Tax Reform Derailed
Policy Director David Collyer writes:
Late last year, the Abbott government called for submissions on its tax reform white paper. Prosper was happy to help and offered ideas.
Since the call, the popularity of the government has plummetted and Tony Abbott’s leadership is shrouded in doubt. There is no confidence the government could carry the electorate with it in any direction. Difficult tax reform would likely arouse a storm of derision rather than a reasoned debate.
On Friday, Treasurer Joe Hockey told the AFR the tax white paper would be deferred until after the intergenerational report – taking it and its controversies off the table in the hope L/NP fortunes can recover.
Read Prosper’s Federal pre-budget submission.
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