My first instinct is “yes” but then I thought about it and I think it’s just going to exacerbate the short-stay problem unless combined with other measures.
Easy fix then, set the criteria for not getting taxed to a formal leasing agreement.
There would have to be a minimum term for it to qualify. Otherwise, that could be worked around with a “lease” with a term of one day.
I quite liked Wales’ approach of taxing second homes significantly more.
A large part of Wales’ housing issue comes from English retirees buying up holiday homes. To the point people were accusing the government of discriminating against English people for the tax against properties that aren’t main residences.
Remove negative gearing and the capital gains tax concessions then let’s talk other measures.
This.
This is the easiest to administrate and provides the biggest benefit. This is the low hanging fruit.
However, after Labors bloodbath when taking it to the election in… 2017 (?) it’s a political non-starter.
It’s one of a long list of possible measures that the government could take but won’t.
The title has been edited on the ABC, and the new title is a pretty perfect summary of what I think almost anyone would have intuitively understood:
could improve Australia’s housing crisis but isn’t the only solution
Just tax land…
A flat land tax is a bit rough. Take some 80-year-old pensioner living in a simple house in suburbs. They’ve lived there for 60 years, only that suburb is now gentrified and a blanket 1% tax on the house is now a $10k/year tax bill they need to come up with (Just making up example of 1% of $1 Million property) just to stay in their own home.
This is a tough problem to figure out. I’m glad it isn’t my job. Whatever the solution is, I’m sure it’s more complicated that just blanket-taxing land. There’d need to be some exemptions to address this (which wouldn’t be that uncommon) and other scenarios I’m too dumb to think of. And whatever exemptions are applied, would naturally lead to people exploiting them as loopholes.
The people at prosper have put some thought into this. https://www.prosper.org.au/campaigns/stamp-duty-to-land-tax/ there scheme allows the elderly to defer the tax until sale which prevents them from being forced to sale but still incentivises it.
Fuck a flat land tax idea. On top of GST, Income Tax, Rates and interest (plus stamp duty), it’s just a money grab.
I mean like do you have an alternative to taxes? The whole point of this is you’d pay less after the switch.
This issue is actually what undid Margaret Thatcher
In the 80s I think there were a few proponents saying that a land tax could replace all other taxes. Very broad based and efficient.
IDK if it was a good idea, it probably would’ve been good in the 80s IMO.
However, completely retarded in the digital age. Productivity does not require land anymore.
Yep. Can’t dodge it, encourages productive use. The only thing is it might push more properties towards airbnb unless you tax that more to make it less profitable.
Outside of holiday towns I don’t think AirBNB is actually an issue it’s such a small percentage of properties that it’s really just marginal. Arguably they get a small subsidy for paying residential rates but most the time it’s an apartment that gets the minimum rate so effectively a hotel is paying less.
In holiday towns it’s similar but arguably they cause more dramatic spikes in rent but overall it should be similar. Tourists are also generating a lot of revenue and jobs so would you rather low rent but no jobs or higher rent but a competitive job market?
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They’re worse than a tax break, they’re an investment.
So to everyone who has those “investments” (like Boomers who did well, people born into rich families, most policitians and most of politicians friends), house prices spiralling out of control is desirable.
They’ll never let the bubble burst.
Too little too late.
I swear I’ve seen this exact post before. Might be because the answer is a pretty clear yes; if combined with killing AirBnBs. If only this changes, then the problem won’t actually be solved.
Minimum density to housing.
1km from minor train station, light rail or BRT should have a building height of 50m+ to 100m
Major stations with express services minimum 100m to 150m
Metro 150m+
Problem 2 is immigration just comes to NSW and Victoria. Have different citizenship requirements depending on where someone is living.
For example something like 10 years minimum for citizenship if you’ve worked or lived in Sydney or Melbourne but 5 years if you haven’t.
For example Spain has different citizenship requirements depending on where you’re born. If you’re born in Portugal, Andorra or any of their ex colonies it’s only 2 years residence to get citizenship for everyone else it’s 10 years.
We could apply the same principle - citizenship takes 5 times longer if you reside or have resided in Sydney or Melbourne. This will reduce the immigration demand on these two cities.
It should be based on bedrooms.
A four bedroom house should have a minimum three people living there as their principle place of residence. The address on their drivers license, electoral roll, school encirclement, etc. If you have less people, you should pay… I dunno, $40k per year in tax?
The government can use that $40k per house in tax revenue to buy all the homes people are suddenly going to want to sell, and put them on the rental market. In some parts of Europe half of all rentals are owned by the government. It’s a system that works well. It also makes town planning easier - often homes need to be demolished in order to build infrastructure for example. The government can do that if it owns a suitable residence with a lease that’s ending soon.
Nah, i don’t like this idea at all.
IMO it violates the age old principle of “quiet enjoyment”. Whether you own or rent, you should be able to determine what happens in your own home, provided that it doesn’t impose on anyone else’s quiet enjoyment of their premises, nor the personal liberties of your co-occupants.
Imagine whatever agency knocking on your door to confirm that the registered occupants do actually reside there. No thanks.
Bold! I like it. I worry it would fall into arguments of what is a bedroom and what is a study/wfh space, etc. Also, what if someone can’t find someone to fill their extra bedroom? A 40k tax would force people to live with people they don’t feel safe around.
