The calls for tax reform come thick and fast – like hammer blows upon the Turnbull government, on its knees praying for a recovery in public opinion. The AFR today gave Australian Institute of Company Directors CEO Elizabeth Proust the…
by Philip Soos reposted from The Guardian Australia’s historically high and rising housing prices are widely debated and have prompted a number of government inquiries into housing affordability. The question stands open: is housing affordable in Australia? Affordability is often…
The Western Australian election 11 March will be a furious battle, but don’t bother with the popcorn – the ALP led by Mark McGowan is set to win easily and the fireworks of One Nation will prove a damp squib.…
A great way to bury an unwelcome government report is to release it into the alcoholic haze of a hot Australian Christmas. Infrastructure Australia’s Capturing Value paper is too important to suffer this fate: who pays for the infrastructure we…
Last month, the Productivity Commission delivered a damning assessment of Australia’s productivity performance over the last 12 years in the discussion paper Increasing Australia’s future prosperity. They asked for submissions with fresh ideas. Prosper has a few: • Attack rent…
Australia has a problem: we can’t build roads, rail and schools as fast as population is growing with current government financing methods. Failing to keep up with our current needs – let alone investing for an uncertain future – puts…
The worst tax we pay is a state charge – conveyancing Stamp Duty, which makes it hard, sometimes impossible, to move across town to a better job or around the corner to a bigger or smaller home. Anyone living with…
CoreLogic’s Quarterly Review of the residential property market released yesterday brings sobering news for land holders – particularly Australia’s 1.2 million strong Negatively Geared investor class. Rents are falling. Source: CoreLogic CoreLogic’s Tim Lawless observes: “Rental incomes are falling across…
The land supply equation in Australia – flashing red danger signals for years – has finally come to the attention of federal Treasurer Scott Morrison, who is charged with the task of advancing national prosperity. He may even be prompted…
The Victorian Treasurer yesterday dismissed belly-aching by holders of valuable parcels whose private joy over the strong rises in land prices comes with a sting – their State Land Tax went up too. ‘‘The government is not considering reducing land…