South Australia is reforming Land Tax laws so holders are assessed on their aggregate land holdings by looking through corporate structures some have created to minimise their liabilities. The SA reforms mirror and are based on existing laws in Victoria…
Chris Vedelago at The Age has exposed a fascinating land-play by Stonnington Council, enforcing scarcity and lifting land prices in the most valuable residential municipality in Melbourne by adding to insatiable demand with its own house-buying to demolish and make…
Angus Raine of RE agents Raine & Horne burst into song about property taxes in a letter on page 55 of the Australian Financial Review today – and what a nice cartoon, Clement! Angus wants Stamp Duty tax breaks…
An Australian political party has boldly stepped forward with a proposal to reform taxes to make housing affordable and end the destruction of tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers money in deadweight losses each and every year: that party is the Australian Labor Party.
Prosper Australia shocked the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into Housing affordability with the view we have no supply constraints – because rents haven’t budged. They have been hearing from every vested interest that Supply! Supply!! Supply! is the key…
If taxpayers are to endure the upset of tax reform, then the change should be to best practice – the tax bases economists have identified as causing the least harm.
Taxi users should be angry at being the victim of a scam obliging them to travel in discomfort so some 'entrepreneur' can enjoy a concessional license fee. And regular license holders ought to share that anger – their rent-seeking activity is being topped and captured by a sub-group, all in the name of mobility for the disabled.
West Australian Treasurer Mike Nahan has acknowledged Stamp Duty is “dumb” but has no interest in changing it, claiming There Is No Alternative. ABC WA reports: In a speech to an economics forum in Perth on Tuesday, Dr Nahan said…
In Sydney where the ABS says established houses are a median $670,000, at least $64,000 of that is due to ‘gearer competition displacing homebuyers via price. Given Sydney is ground zero of ‘gearer displacement, this is likely a gross underestimate of the price consequences.
Libertarians and conservatives denounce Pigovian taxation because it would serious decrease profits for those doing the cost externalisation e.g. the wealthy and big business. Because uncorrected external effects are so rampant and thus a sign of the grave inefficiencies of capitalism, they have to be denied to even exist.