Re:New Zealand to ban foreigners from buying existing houses
by elyobo on Friday October 27, 2017 @01:51AM
(#15566012)
Sure, there are a some that would be disadvantaged (new home buyers that end up in negative equity would also be in a bad situation) but they're dwarfed by those that benefit. A government with the nerve to crash the market through sane taxation would be able to reap a sufficient dividend to compensate those genuinely disadvantaged through negative equity, but it seems unlikely to happen.
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Re:New Zealand to ban foreigners from buying existing houses
by conanbatt on Friday October 27, 2017 @07:08AM
(#15567266)
> A government with the nerve to crash the market through sane taxation would be able to reap a sufficient dividend to compensate those genuinely disadvantaged through negative equity,
Ha!
The government is already collecting taxes because of home sales, it doesn't need to restrict it to solve it with its magical redistribution powers.
Re:New Zealand to ban foreigners from buying existing houses
by elyobo on Friday October 27, 2017 @07:27AM
(#15567365)
I don't think you understand the NZ situation very well; the government collects very little from property sales compared to most parts of the world, because there's no stamp duty and there's practically no capital gains tax.
That said, government revenue isn't even the problem, the excessive cost of housing is the problem.
The government is already interfering in the housing market by not taxing it at the same level as normal income; by making it tax advantageous to earn capital gains rather than by labour it pushes money into that market.
I'd prefer that they stopped messing with the housing market by treating it the same.