We need a land and wealth tax to replace income and transaction tax.

cepheus

Unfortunately taxing only new build doesn't work well, what we really need is a tax on all of the landlords who are driving the price of housing up.

CLAPTON

cepheus wrote: »

Unfortunately taxing only new build doesn't work well, what we really need is a tax on all of the landlords who are driving the price of housing up.

indeed so, taxing only new builds simply makes new builds less attractive to buyers which is exactly what we don't want to do.

Thrugelmir

cepheus wrote: »

Unfortunately taxing only new build doesn't work well, what we really need is a tax on all of the landlords who are driving the price of housing up.

Raise interest rates that would change the dynamics.

Every artificial measure has an unintended consequence elsewhere.

CLAPTON

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Raise interest rates that would change the dynamics.

Every artificial measure has an unintended consequence elsewhere.

natural measure have consequences too

John_Pierpoint

cepheus wrote: »

Unfortunately taxing only new build doesn't work well, what we really need is a tax on all of the landlords who are driving the price of housing up.

Surely the real problem is that there are particularly young people, the unemployable and migrants with zero capital and perhaps debts, trying to survive in a capitalist economy. These are the people who are driving up rents, because if you haven't got something (money or property) you have to hire someone else's.
Someone should have taught them the facts of life, at the age of (say) 14.

cepheus

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Raise interest rates that would change the dynamics.

Every artificial measure has an unintended consequence elsewhere.

Raising interest rates would have the consequence of continuing the recession. Laissez-faire economics have the unintended consequences of just about every social ill imaginable and in the most extreme case revolution and nationalisation of assets.

cepheus

Last week the chancellor stood up in parliament to announce that benefits for the very poor would be cut yet again. On the same day, in Luxembourg, the British government battled to maintain benefits for the very rich. It won. As a result, some of the richest people in the country will each continue to receive millions of pounds in income support from taxpayers.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/01/farm-subsidies-blatant-transfer-of-cash-to-rich

Thrugelmir

cepheus wrote: »

Raising interest rates would have the consequence of continuing the recession.

Why should the prudent bear the cost ?

cepheus

Personally I feel the same way and want interest rates to rise. However, higher interest rates would kill business investment and economic recovery.

grizzly1911

cepheus wrote: »

Personally I feel the same way and want interest rates to rise. However, higher interest rates would kill business investment and economic recovery.

Are businesses investing, aren't many sitting on cash piles?

Would 2-3%, staged increase be the death knell for a compelling business case?