Peter Martin, Australia’s clearest economic writer, has turned his icy gaze to Stamp Duty. This vile tax causes real harm to all of us and begs to be struck from the statute books. Yes, it is a state tax. Yes, the feds can push reform along and add $85.5 billion to...
BLOG: land tax
The WA Barnett government will be destroyed – who benefits?
The West Australian state election March 11 will be quite a fight. The few opinion polls suggest a handsome victory to the McGowan ALP opposition. ReachTEL has 55-45 two party preferred and Newspoll 52-48 in favour of Labor. Minor parties campaigning in the ashes of...
Proust wants a 15% GST hike = Eat the Poor.
The calls for tax reform come thick and fast – like hammer blows upon the Turnbull government, on its knees praying for a recovery in public opinion. The AFR today gave Australian Institute of Company Directors CEO Elizabeth Proust the pulpit to call for an increase...
Building bridges to ourselves: Infrastructure Australia’s Value Capture initiative
A great way to bury an unwelcome government report is to release it into the alcoholic haze of a hot Australian Christmas. Infrastructure Australia’s Capturing Value paper is too important to suffer this fate: who pays for the infrastructure we need is a matter of...
Next time government says it can’t afford to build, wave this IA report in their face
Australia has a problem: we can’t build roads, rail and schools as fast as population is growing with current government financing methods. Failing to keep up with our current needs – let alone investing for an uncertain future - puts the living standards of everyone...
True Grit: leadership, political backbone and advancing the national interest
The worst tax we pay is a state charge – conveyancing Stamp Duty, which makes it hard, sometimes impossible, to move across town to a better job or around the corner to a bigger or smaller home. Anyone living with modern teenagers and the elderly in a house of many...
Seize the Day, Scott Morrison – rid Australia of a bad tax and free up the land
The land supply equation in Australia - flashing red danger signals for years - has finally come to the attention of federal Treasurer Scott Morrison, who is charged with the task of advancing national prosperity. He may even be prompted into action. Notoriously...
Tim Pallas protects land tax revenues – and the people of Victoria
The Victorian Treasurer yesterday dismissed belly-aching by holders of valuable parcels whose private joy over the strong rises in land prices comes with a sting – their State Land Tax went up too. ‘‘The government is not considering reducing land tax rates in...
Exposed: Scomo’s ‘fix’ on housing costs a sop to Libs’ Big Developer donors
by Warwick Smith Warwick Smith smells a rat in Scomo's sudden solution to housing affordability – planning reform – coming just ten days after developers' call for same. SCOTT MORRISON has suddenly announced that he cares about housing affordability. This is...
NSW Premier Baird passes the Elixir bottle without taking a swig
NSW Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet floated the idea of exchanging Stamp Duty for State Land Tax in The Australian yesterday. We warmly welcomed his initiative and explained some of the big benefits this offered NSW. By 5.30pm yesterday, Philip Coorey had the...