Not the Queensland Budget Speech
. . . … Madam Speaker, if the Government is to balance the Budget in these difficult times, it cannot afford to indulge in forms of taxation that shrink the economy from which all public revenue is drawn. In some…
Category Commentary
Don’t blame foreign investment for rising house prices
Republished with thanks from The Conversation One question that arises on the topic of real estate is the scale of foreign investment and ownership in Australia. It is understandable that the public has concerns about such investment, especially as precious…
Funding Infrastructure
Letter to the Editor The Age 24/07/2012 Using the uplift in private land values to fund infrastructure projects (Doncaster railway line ‘could be built for $840m) is one of the recommendations of the Ken Henry review of taxes that was…
Beware the rent-seeking organisation: don’t be dudded by housing data
Reprinted from The Conversation One of the more interesting outcomes the 2011 Census produced was the figures concerning the housing market. The reason for this interest is how the results contrasted with the idea that Australia currently suffers from an…
Empty Land and Homes
5th Speculative Vacancies Report Thursday June 21st, 6.30pm Presenter: Philip Soos, Researcher, Deakin Uni Prosper rooms, 1/27 Hardware Lane, Melbourne RSVP Exciting researcher Philip Soos is set to release Earthsharing Australia’s 5th Speculative Vacancies report. Over 1 million homes have…
Yes Please, Treasurer Baird!
The NSW Treasurer flew a kite in Saturday’s AFR (Baird flags insurance levy reform in budget). We should all come to attention and salute a positive change. We pay for fire fighters through a charge on insurances – in NSW,…
Alternative Outlook on Austerity, Sales Tax
This post was adapted from our e-news service. Sign up on the right hand side of the home page for a bi-monthly email. These certainly are exciting times to be advocating an alternative economic framework. We see thoughout the EU…
Time to stop rewarding economists for bad behaviour
Reprinted from The Conversation. Since the beginning of the global financial crises in 2007, there have occurred numerous economic and financial crises around the globe, plunging often prosperous nations into hardship and even near bankruptcy. These crises, typically generated by…
Ride for free or pay the fine
In his second budget, Victorian Treasurer Kim Wells is aiming for a surplus of $155 million, of which $109 million is due to increased fines. The Government has budgeted for $662.5 million in total fines, including $306 million from road-safety…
Psst! Stamp duty can be avoided
As the Fairfax papers reported on April 14, the NSW government has rejected yet another recommendation to replace conveyancing stamp duty by a broad-based land tax. That is the effect of the “stamp duty replacement tax” recommended on page 13-4 of…