The House of Representatives economic committee inquiry into Home Ownership was opened with fanfare and encouraging comments by chair John Alexander (Liberal, Bennelong): “Some have said we are on track to becoming a Kingdom where the Lords own all the…
The Australian people are being distracted from the main game by a mad side-show over foreign nationals buying our land. The sheer scale of this buying is further inflating our sorely overheated property market, imposing great costs on first-time buyers,…
The Property Council of Australia was out again yesterday, sternly defending the land from pesky taxes and ‘value capture’. Well, their land. The ACT branch said its members “applaud the ACT government’s vision” for the 12-kilometre tram linking the city…
The Housing Industry Association’s Harley Dale and the Urban Development Institute’s Michael Corcoran have called for the repeal of Stamp Duty in favor of a broad-based land tax, News Corp reports today. Both lobby groups fear an extension of the…
By Bryan Kavanagh and David Collyer This week’s game-changer, the Property Taxes paper by Grattan Institute has a minor error on land valuation that needs correcting before it becomes a gift to the opponents of reform. Grattan is acutely aware…
The Grattan Institute has just released a working paper Property Taxes to lift our thinking about which are the best taxes to reform onto. Grattan CEO John Daley and Senior Associate Brendan Coates say: “…states and territories have a looming…
The Barnett government in WA is advertising for someone to forecast what its tax and royalty revenues will be. Earlier official predictions, notably on iron ore royalty revenue, have proven wildly inaccurate. The advertisement specifically calls for macro-economic and econometric…
by Matt Ellis So bubble mania has finally hit the mainstream. The housing bubble question has landed squarely at the feet of the Prime Minister and his treasurer, and only 10 to 15 years late… What a relief it is…
It has been so long since the last recession 1990-91 that anyone who experienced it in business or the workforce is an old white guy – they are at best in their late 40’s and the beard sprouts grey. Let…
Two organisations share the acronym PCA: the Property Council of Australia and the Prostitutes Collective of Australia*. One makes a useful civic contribution, the other is a bunch of filthy whores who will do anything for money and deserve universal…