The world according to GRP — Thursday, February 07, 2008:
Tax property bludgers
In the teeth of a worsening shortage of housing, rebounding house prices and soaring rents, why are building approvals falling?
Because the tax system makes it too easy for developers to hoard residential land without developing it, too easy for owners of vacant lots to leave them vacant, and too easy for owners of derelict buildings to board them up instead of repairing them and offering them to tenants.
One solution is to deem every investment property to be earning a minimum taxable income of (say) 3.5% of the site value per annum. Then the owners of idle properties, in order to pay their taxes, will have to generate income from those properties or sell them to someone who will. That will ease the shortage of accommodation and improve affordability.
— Email published by ABC News Online, February 6.
Copyright © Gavin R. Putland except as otherwise attributed. Posted at The world according to GRP under the title Tax property bludgers. You may republish this item verbatim on your website or blog provided that you include this notice (with hyperlinks).
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