THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics today presented its report on the inquiry into home ownership.

This inquiry was established to assess issues related to home ownership in Australia, and potential policy responses by government.

Committee Chair, Mr David Coleman MP, said that a range of views on the challenges facing home buyers were canvassed throughout this inquiry.

The key findings of the report include:

• while demand for housing is strong in Sydney and Melbourne it must be noted this is not the case throughout Australia. Many parts of Australia have a relatively weak housing market;
• government policy in this area should predominantly focus on boosting dwelling supply in underserved markets;
• the Committee does not support tax increases on property investment.  Increased rates of capital gains tax, and increases to income tax through the removal of negative gearing are not supported by the committee;
• the Committee notes that APRA has the capacity to seek to limit the growth of borrowing by property investors, should it deem this to be in the interest of financial stability. APRA acted in this manner in late 2014 and this action is widely regarded as having been successful. It is open to APRA to take additional actions in this area in the future if it deems it to be appropriate.

“Australia’s property market is not homogeneous – it has very different characteristics in different locations”, Mr Coleman said. 

"Government policy is best focused on seeking to increase the level of stock in those markets that are under-supplied at present.  Increasing rates of tax on property investment would have a negative impact on the economy, and is not supported by the committee. It’s notable that APRA has already acted to reduce the rate of borrowing by investors, and has the tools to take further action if it believes this is in the best interests of the economy."

The Committee’s report also canvasses potential changes to stamp duty and land taxes, and finds that any such change should only be considered as part of an overall review of property taxation.

The report can be accessed from the Committee’s website.

ends

BRISBANE has taken out fourth spot in a prestigious global ranking of cities vying for foreign direct investment, and placed in the top 10 worldwide for human capital and lifestyle.

Queensland’s capital moved up one spot to place fourth out of 53 submitting cities in the Foreign Direct Investment Strategy category of the Global Cities of the Future report released every two years by fDi Intelligence – a division of the London-based Financial Times.

This year Brisbane also placed highly in the publication’s overall rankings of 131 cities worldwide, taking out 10^th position for human capital and lifestyle – just one spot behind London.

“Placing fourth for foreign direct investment strategy demonstrates that Brisbane is successfully showing the world that our city is economically resilient, supports foreign investors across a range of industry sectors, and is backed by a robust and connected business and government environment,” Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said.

“To be ranked within the top 10 globally for human capital and lifestyle is testament to the outstanding education, research, business, employment and lifestyle opportunities that continue to attract and retain talented and skilled people in our great city.”

The publication also named Brisbane winner of two inaugural awards for strategy, driven by the city’s economic development board, Brisbane Marketing.

Brisbane’s 2022 New World City Action Plan was recognised with the Strategic Vision Award, while the city’s successful tourism infrastructure and hotel investment strategy saw it win the Tourism Development Award.

“The Brisbane 2022 New World City Action Plan has put out city firmly on the path toward greater economic growth and prosperity by focusing on seven key economic priorities and eight promising growth sectors,” Cr Quirk said.

“Brisbane’s hotel investment and tourist attraction strategy focuses on building the tourism and visitation economy by attracting foreign direct investment into infrastructure such as cruise ship terminals, major tourist attractions, and four and five-star hotels.

“More than $10 billion worth of major project and infrastructure work in the pipeline will support greater numbers of tourists who are choosing our progressive and multicultural city for the wealth of unique experiences on offer.

“The latest fDi Intelligence rankings are another indicator that Brisbane is becoming a more globally competitive city which will continue to attract and benefit from foreign direct investment.” 

www.brisbanemarketing.com.au

ends

THE Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has reiterated its call for compensation for accountants’ lost time and productivity due to the failure of the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) technology.

“We are constantly being reassured by the ATO that it will fix its system going forward and practitioners can expect more robust ATO interactions from the deployment of better technology in 2017.  These reassurances are now falling on deaf ears of our members when the portal goes down for two days this week,” said IPA chief executive officer, Andrew Conway.

“In 2015, the ATO acknowledged that its use of technology and administrative changes combined with the existing ATO portal issues have added to the frustrations and lost productivity for many small tax practitioners.

"The portal downtime this week coincides with the release of the Inspector General of Taxation (IGT) report (Review into the Taxpayers’ Charter and Taxpayer Protections) which highlight deficiencies in the Compensation for Detriment Causes by Defective Administration (CDDA) scheme.  The report confirms that the CCDA scheme does not adequately address productivity loss, opportunity costs (particularly for tax practitioners) or psychological injury.  It further states that the CCDA scheme does not adequately compensate for losses arising from major ATO changes in process or IT.

“Most tax agent practitioners are small businesses themselves working hard to service the interests of their clients.

“Our members have highlighted to us on many occasions that they have suffered productivity loss, missed deadlines, and incurred irrecoverable costs as well as damage to their reputations and relationships with their clients.

“We have and continue to provide the ATO with real examples of these practical issues.

“Our member feedback has consistently stated that the ATO portal which is an essential tool of trade for practitioners and agents has been a constant point of frustration due to the portal’s instability and unreliability. 

“We acknowledge the ATO is acutely aware of these issues and our obligation is to voice the concerns on behalf of our members.

“We will continue to work with the ATO to ensure the system is fixed for all concerned,” said Mr Conway.

publicaccountants.org.au

THE Trade Sub-Committee of the Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JSCFADT) has commenced an inquiry into Australia’s trade and investment relationship with its largest trading partner in Europe - the United Kingdom.

‘Following the United Kingdom’s referendum decision to leave the European Union, it is timely to conduct an inquiry into Australia’s trade relations with the UK,’ the Chair of the Trade Sub-Committee, Senator Bridget McKenzie said.

‘With two-way trade in goods and services worth more than $23 billion, the UK has long been a significant trade and investment partner for Australia. The Sub-Committee will investigate the opportunities to expand these trade and investment links, and the merits of a possible bilateral free trade agreement with the UK, especially as both countries navigate a new trading path with each other.’

‘This inquiry will include an examination of the possible implications for Australia’s trade and investment relationships with the UK and the EU, depending on how and when the UK negotiates its exit from the EU.’

The inquiry will also look at the significant UK investment in Australia and Australian investment in the UK. According to the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, who referred the inquiry to the JSCFADT, UK businesses have direct investments worth $76 billion in Australia, rising to nearly $500 billion when portfolio and other investments are included. Australia had direct investments of $81 billion in the UK and $353 billion overall in 2015.

Tourism also remains another important export for Australia with nearly 700,000 British visitors coming to Australia last year, who collectively spent almost $4 billion in Australia. In 2015-16, the UK Office for National Statistics reported more than 600,000 Australians visited the UK.

The terms of reference for the Committee’s inquiry are as follows:

The Committee shall examine Australia’s trade and investment relationship with the United Kingdom (UK). The Committee shall have particular regard to:

• the nature of Australia’s current trade and investment relationship with the UK;
• possible implications for Australia’s trade and investment relationships with the UK and the European Union consequent to the UK’s exit from the European Union;
• barriers and impediments to trade and investment with the UK;
• opportunities to expand trade and investment links;
• the merits and risks of a possible bilateral free trade agreement with the UK, and potential features of such an agreement;
• the role of Australian governments (State, Territory and Federal) in identifying trade and investment opportunities in the UK, and assisting Australian exporters to access these opportunities; and
• any other related matters.

The Trade Sub-Committee invites submissions from anyone with an interest in the issues raised by these terms of reference.  Submissions addressing the terms of reference should be lodged by 17 February 2017.  Further details about the about the inquiry, including how to contribute, can be obtained from the Committee’s website or by contacting the Committee Secretariat.

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website. Click on the blue ‘Track Committee’ button in the bottom right hand corner and use the forms to login to My Parliament or to register for a My Parliament account.

ends