This Month
4 policy ideas to fix housing affordability
Fixing Australia’s decade-long housing crisis won’t happen overnight. It requires a sustained effort that cuts across political cycles.
November 2024
Mirvac taps stamp duty exemptions to sell luxury Melbourne apartments
News of the sales – and strong demand for a Sydney development with no tax break – raise questions about who should benefit from stamp duty cuts.
October 2024
Ireland hits wealthy with ‘mansion tax’
The introduction of a third band of stamp duty is expected to raise €80 million a year.
June 2024
SA removes stamp duty for first home buyers on all new builds
The pre-budget announcement is a concession that soaring house prices have sabotaged the effectiveness of last year’s more modest exemption.
May 2024
Victoria adds $700m to home buyer scheme – and calls time on it
There were minimal housing policies in the Victorian budget, but the state government is hopeful of a pick-up in sales next year to boost its finances.
Victoria has become a poor state: economist Saul Eslake
The southern state’s high dependence on property and population growth has a fallout felt beyond its borders.
April 2024
What Victoria’s new commercial property tax means for investors
Victoria is abolishing stamp duty for commercial and industrial properties and replace it with an annual property tax. Now, here’s the fine print.
February 2024
Victoria ‘overly reliant’ on stamp duty, industry warns
The Real Estate Institute of Victoria has urged the Allan government to cut stamp duty and consider introducing tax incentives for long-term rental properties.
Victoria the biggest winner from stamp duty bracket creep
Victoria’s stamp duty rates lack indexation to housing price growth, meaning the proportion of home buyers paying the top rates has increased sixfold.
Stamp duty is five times more expensive than a generation ago
Higher stamp duty for a median-price home are forcing some Australians to delay moving, changing jobs and even having children.
January 2024
CEOs ‘back tax summit 100pc’ but Chalmers unmoved
Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott, retailer Gerry Harvey and Virgin chairman Graham Bradley have backed a national summit to jumpstart debate on tax reform.
CEOs urge summit to break tax ‘malaise’
The country’s peak business group will attempt to jumpstart a moribund reform agenda with a national summit.
‘Be courageous’: Henry urges Albanese not to drop ball on tax reform
The architect of Australia’s last major tax reform push argues that reform is possible if a government has the temerity to pursue it.
States stand by ‘discriminatory’ taxes for foreign property buyers
The IMF criticised states for charging overseas buyers higher imposts on housing, saying it does nothing to boost affordability. The states agree – mostly.
September 2023
Andrews ignored advice to axe stamp duty in housing plan
The state’s 800,000 new home push ignores tax measures that could free up existing housing stock – but that would mean a loss of lucrative stamp duty revenue.
August 2023
Andrews urged to scrap stamp duty to ease housing crisis
The Victorian government has been urged to consider dropping stamp duty for a broad-based land tax.
July 2023
House prices to rise as stamp duty forces owners to stay put: Jarden
Soaring agent fees and stamp duties are preventing an increasing number of homeowners from moving, according to new research from investment bank Jarden.
June 2023
How to turn stamp duty into a land tax overnight
There is a way that Australia’s most inefficient tax could be phased out without states losing a lot of revenue upfront.
May 2023
Victoria land tax rise to hit poorer renters, investors say
Higher land tax will hurt owners of lower-priced properties, and the renters who lease them, investors say. Housing advocates say it could boost supply.
Perrottet’s stamp duty reforms set to be torn up by Minns
Two steps forward, one step back: NSW Premier Chris Minns is set to introduce legislation tearing up stamp duty reforms in favour of more stamp duty breaks.