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 funding gap, and have...
BLOG: Commentary
Find me a true prophet!
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...
Squaring the circle: The contradictory arguments against limiting negative gearing to new homes
By Gavin Putland. Cross-posted from Land Value Research Group. Of all the proposed reforms to negative gearing, the one with the best chance of being supported by a major political party — hence the best chance of getting through Parliament — is to disallow or...
More property lobby propaganda – Take Action!
ACIL Allen Consulting released a misleading report commissioned by the Property Council of Australia and the Real Estate Institute of Australia about negative gearing. Among its claims are that middle income earners are the primary beneficiaries of negative gearing...
Kohler: Tax Our Bubble Trouble
Australia's most high profile business reporter, Alan Kohler, turned up unannounced this week to find out about the group behind the rising interest in Henry George and Land Value Tax. Cross-posted from Business Spectator ($): Almost 120 years after his death,...
Land rezoning open to routine corruption
As published in The Age and online, highlighting today's seminar. by Clay Lucas The rezoning of land by state governments across Australia is so open to routine corruption and manipulation by a "mates network" among both major political parties that a cooling off...
The housing crash we had to have: A Gen Y perspective on the bubble
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 then to hear our fearless leaders assure us that there...
ACT tax reforms sound, but feds can help
Prosper member Ron Johnson featured in today's Australian Financial Review: Phillip Coorey ("ACT land tax may please wonks but that's about all", AFR, June 6-7) claims that the ACT government commenced its tax reforms with "no mandate, no public discussion, just an...
Speculative Demand from Real Estate family
The Treasurer who told us to simply change jobs to afford skyrocketing Sydney has revealed his real motivations for ignoring the land bubble. He dropped the bombshell on 3AW with Neil Mitchell: “Yeah, well I come from a family of real estate agents…” The locked out...
Re-zoning insider windfalls
Read about this landmark methodology by Cameron Murray and Paul Fritjers, modelling game theory from thousands of cosy relationships to determine the likelihood of beneficial re-zoning outcomes. Cameron was interviewed on the Renegade Economists last week. Stay tuned...