Not all home-buyer assistance is gone
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday February 3, 2010
You say house prices posted the strongest quarterly growth in more than half a decade "despite dwindling government grants" ("House prices surge ahead of rate rises", February 2).By that you mean, of course, the first-home buyer grants which were worth a few hundred million dollars annually. But the other grants, christened "negative gearing" and "halved capital gains tax", which amount to several billion dollars a year, are still with us.I wonder what effect a partial or total removal of those - the second, third or nth home buyer ones - would have on the economy, especially on house prices for first nesters. And, for that matter, on the nation's productivity, about which politicians have lately expressed concern.John MasonSouth Melbourne (Vic)Gail Kelly's new house at Terrey Hills looks really nice ("Westpac chief executive buys a slice of the good life", February 2). And it only cost one year's worth of her $9 million salary. I have been a NSW teacher for more than 30 years. Does anyone know where I could buy a house for about $78,000? Preferably with five bedrooms and equestrian facilities.Jenny Mooney KaruahRates up. Or notWhat do you do if you put 20 economists in a room and they all agree the market is going up? Sell.Lachlan Walker KillaraMusic freeloadersWhat I find more disturbing than a healthy debate about R18+ computer games is that Ross Bowerman's friend's daughter has so many songs on her phone that she hasn't paid for (Letters, February 1). In other words, she has stolen them by downloading them illegally.Perhaps if parents took their responsibilities a little more seriously, children would not be stealing music or playing computer games that are not intended for them in the first place.Renata Jelacic NarrabeenHelp for HowardWith a substantial parliamentary pension, plus financial support from the taxpayer (as a former prime minister), plus substantial fees as a worldwide speaker, does John Howard really need John Alexander to host a fund-raiser for him in Bennelong (Diary, February 2)?Shirley Colless DubboHeirs and graces"The Packer dynasty will live on for another generation with a baby boy arriving for James and Erica Packer overnight" ("New heir for Packer dynasty", smh.com.au, February 2). Am I a little sensitive or does this smack of sexism? Does the birth of their first child, Indigo, have no relevance to a financial empire? The article appears to relegate her to the look-pretty-and-say-nothing mould. The glass ceiling just got thicker.Clare Raffan Russell LeaOne for the teamAn election looms in September ("Crunch year for returning MPs", February 2)? Obviously the Prime Minister doesn't hold out much hope for the finals' chances of the Brisbane Lions, notwithstanding his "all things to all men" reincarnation as an AFL tragic.Lucille Kerslake Lane CoveLa dolce vitaThe Italian Prime Minister's estranged wife, at 53, is demanding a monthly maintenance fee of $5.5 million to keep her life going ("PM's wife wants $5.5m a month", February 2). Meanwhile, in Haiti ...Megan Brock Summer HillVote 1 acronymsI am not sure I will be able to cope with another year or so of Tony Abbott and his shrill populist mantra "Kevin Rudd's Great Big New Tax". Maybe Tony and his cohorts could just use the acronym KRGBNT. It would save time and, I hope, our sanity.Robyn Park Balgowlah
© 2010 Sydney Morning Herald
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