# 2 12 December 2008 Ineffective demand: a picture of a tax-induced economic depression In the 2nd of this most important series of commentaries warning of the looming depression, Bryan Kavanagh interprets one of his most important graphs. Mr Kavanagh lists…
photo credit: nicksarebi In the past year more than 81,000 Victorians have received rates default notices, which then impose a 12 per cent interest charge on the debts. Council Rates are again in the headlines, with affordability pressures crunching into…
Today’s Sydney Morning Herald article on Empty Dwellings in a City Desperate for Places to Live has exposed the raft of vacancies prevalent when land banking trumps housing affordability. It quotes how 122,211 sites were vacant in the 2006 census,…
The day after the 2008 Federal Budget, Gavin Putland (our Research Officer) sent three letters to newspapers. This one was sent to THE AGE, which exercised its editorial discretion not to publish: Cop-out On Inflation And Rents If a Budget…
By Bryan Kavanagh Treasury’s mission is “to improve the wellbeing of the Australian people by providing sound and timely advice to the Government, based on objective and thorough analysis of options, and by assisting Treasury Ministers in the administration of…
Today’s report on the Melbourne 2030 urban growth boundary cries out for a comment from Prosper Australia members. Melbourne University academic Rob Moodie rolled out the usual suspects in recommending that dwellings per hectare improve on the urban fringe, that…
by Anne Schmid JUNE 2006 This submission is made with particular reference to the proposed introduction of the waste collection charge. I ask the question – Are user charges better than rates? What is the next charge going to be?…
by Leo Foley The primary source for this paper is “Canberra in Crisis” by Frank Brennan, 1971 The Road to Leasehold – the origins of the Canberra leasehold system.. Canberra is the offspring of politics and a social ideal. The…
The real issue forcing land prices up are the huge economic rents available to land speculators. With Jeff Kennett’s move away from Site Value rating to Capital Improved Value (CIV) rating, land speculators can purchase land, sit on it and…
Dear Editor, So now we discover the effects of reducing state land tax and councils moving away from site rental value for rates to capital improved value (“Victorians Risk Losing Homes”, Herald Sun, July 17). Deriving public finances from the…