Today, Australian home values are worth about seven times the average salary. In Melbourne, it’s eight times.
The authors point to the obviously harmful impact of the capital gains concessions on investment property, which has inflated demand for housing while encouraging property to be viewed as a speculative vehicle for wealth accumulation rather than a fundamental need.
We are now at a crunch point, the authors argue, where in addition to the obvious inequality of Australia’s housing system, the manifest failure to ensure a path to home ownership will put increasing stress on the national budget as households that do not own their home require higher support payments in retirement to cover housing costs.“There is no responsible ‘business as usual’ option,” Hal Pawson told a Committee for Sydney event this week to launch the book.
Reform of tax breaks on housing, most pressingly on investment housing, must be on the table, the authors argue. As must a switch in the tax base of state governments from stamp duty to a land tax.
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