Latest News & Commentary
125th Henry George Commemoration Dinner
A full house turned up to hear Prosper Australia president, Catherine Cashmore, deliver her address, entitled “The Culture of Abundance” at the 125th Henry George Commemoration Dinner in Melbourne on Thursday night. One of the best speeches for years, a good mixture...
The First Interval – Evaluating ACT’s Land Value Tax Transition
; The First Interval – Evaluating ACT’s Land Value Tax Transition By Dr Cameron Murray Prosper Australia commissioned Dr Murray to examine the early benefits of ACT’s 20 year process replacing conveyancing stamp duty with land tax. He will present his calculations and...
Private tax is the great unspoken of neoliberal philosophy. And the rich are the winners
by Philip Soos reposted from The Guardian When we hear talk about taxation, it is naturally assumed to refer to those taxes which are levied by the government. After all, no individual or business can charge anyone else a tax, right? From the 1980s onwards in the...
Three unofficial state secrets about the housing problem
by Gavin Putland re-posted from his blog Secret 1: The purpose of encouraging home ownership is to create a majority of voters who own real estate and who therefore support policies that make real estate as expensive as possible, for the benefit of the biggest owners....
Wolves at the door – not trying to push it down, yet
Back in May, US blogger Wolf Richer held forth on Wolf Street that hedge funds were betting record amounts on the imminent meltdown of Australian banks and our housing bubble by shorting shares. His arguments had me nodding my bearish head in agreement, yet the facts...
Land Use Corrupted by Economics and Religion
by Bryan Kavanagh reposted from thedepression.org.au ECONOMICS Economics is about how we produce and distribute our wealth. This is important because it’s about us: about our daily lives. But we’ve outsourced economics to economists who don’t understand the role of...
Land prices are not simply a matter of supply and demand
by Bryan Kavanagh Reposted from On-Line Opinion Fortunately, the theory of real estate valuation is not as difficult to comprehend as the theory of value, over which economists continue to fight endlessly. Real estate valuation concerns the assessment of particular...
Rail crossing removal makes me cross – do it properly!
The next rail crossing to be removed by the Victorian Government’s Level Crossing Removal Authority is at Grange Road, Alphington. It is asking locals whether they would prefer a sky bridge over or a concrete trench under. The good residents of Alphington are being...
Airbnb defends its territory
At the weekend, Simon Johanson reported the Victorian Supreme Court decision to disallow body corporate regulation of short-stay operators. There is real conflict here. Owner occupiers are incentivised to avoid maintenance costs and be cordial toward their neighbors –...
Stamp Duty slugs families $91 a month
The Housing Industry Association today released their estimate that conveyancing Stamp Duty costs Australian households $91 a month. “By eroding deposits and making homebuyers borrow more, stamp duty is estimated to add $91 per month to household mortgage repayments...
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