It’s shameful that NSW State premier Mike Baird should be leading the call to extend the GST to 15%.

State leaders should be using their land taxing powers properly, having regard to all the studies showing land tax to carry virtually no economic deadweight – certainly less than the GST.

No State has been using its land taxing powers effectively.  They need to drop all the exemptions, thresholds, multiple rates and aggregation provisions which give State land taxes such a bad name when the principle itself, as you may have read here, can’t be bettered.  Reforming State land tax and using it efficiently would also act to curb the continuing skyrocketing land prices of Sydney and Melbourne.

And, when we do get our extended GST, I’m sure Joe Sixpack will be able to claim back some of his GST, as businesses are able to do – NOT!   🙁

But I mentioned a year ago, you were going to get a higher GST, whether you like it or not .  Bankers and the 1% are clamouring for it.  I hear no advocacy for land tax from them!  I wonder why?  They’re not making many hundreds of billions out of this land price bubble, surely?  If so, whatever happened to their risk management?  Oh, that’s right, you and I will bail them out when they fail!