Cross Posted from Warwick Smith at The Guardian Joe Hockey recently said “I don’t like higher taxes; I am philosophically opposed to higher taxes … because if you increase taxes you’re just collecting someone else’s money.” As usual, the reality is not as simple as...
BLOG: Commentary
Australia’s land price conundrum
by Bryan Kavanagh reposted from On-Line Opinion Whilst in Newgate Prison (1827-1830) for the abduction of heiress Ellen Turner, Edward Gibbon Wakefield had a great idea. If you kept land prices high in the new British colonies, people could be forced to work like...
Budget deadweight, Prosper happenings
Join our fortnightly enews on all things evolving economics. Read past editions. Share with your friends! Having trouble reading this newsletter? View it online. The enews of Prosper & Earthsharing Australia MAY 2015 Gratis Tech Crash 101 Our deepest apologies...
WA budget wins Golden Banana Award
West Australia's Barnett government has just handed down its budget. It is the ugliest baby I have ever seen. The AFR reports: All key financial measures have been blown apart in the state budget, with net debt (above $30 billion) cash deficits (above $5 billion) and...
The Census saved!
The Abbott government has agreed to spend $250 million on the 2016 census and to replace the Australian Bureau of Statistics computer systems, parts of which are 30 years old. The census is a critically important national statistical tool. It measures population and...
Foreign investment curbs benefit Australian investors
Over the weekend the Andrews Government announced a tax on foreign investment in Victorian real estate. This includes a 3% Stamp Duty surcharge and a 0.5% Land Tax premium for absentee owners. On top of the $5,000 foreign investment fee announced by the Federal...
Australian land prices go vertical
By Leith van Onselen Core Logic-RP Data has released its Capital Markets Report for 2015, which contains some disturbing data on Australia’s land costs, which have gone vertical despite shrinking in size: The price of vacant residential land across the capital cities...
Andrew’s Rate Capping Folly
Cr Stephen Mayne invited a Prosper presentation at the Future Melbourne meeting last night. This followed on from the February MCC meeting I presented to in reaction to the short sighted Victorian Government decision to cap local council rating. Cr Mayne had asked...
Property rentier collects its spoils
By Leith van Onselen Hot on the heels of Prime Minister, Tony Abbott’s gutless announcement that he won’t reform negative gearing, prime spokesman for the property industry, the Property Council of Australia (PCA), has released the following statement: Executive...
Xenophon changes tune on super access
Cycling into work yesterday I bumped into the good Senator Nick Xenophon. I had to yell out "No super access for First Home Owners"! He responded so I hit the brakes and we had a short chat. In good news, Nick said that he had changed his position: 'I've been...