More on the 'Clean Feed', Land Tax for Australia, Writing & Gaming

[tcpip]

The "clean feed" legislation continues to be treated with the contempt it deserves. Australia's largest ISP, iiNet, has signed to up trials to explictly show how broken it is with Michael Malone describing Ministry Conroy as "The worst Communications Minister we've had in the 15 years since the [internet] industry has existed", describing the proposal as "useless, inefficient and ineffectual". Watch the minister squirm like a stuck pig from some serious questions from Greens Senator, Scott Ludlam. hasimir provides an excellent EFA analysis of past and present proposals. A much cleaner feed has been achieved with a provider responsible for 75% of the world's spam knocked offline.

Let me go on my favourite economic rant for a minute: Land tax improves productivity. Land tax increases rates of employment. Land tax increases the quantity and quality of buildings. Land tax cuts the cost of goods and services. Land tax reduces tax bill of workers and capitalists. Land tax reduces the environmental footprint. Land tax reduces tax evasion. I am prepared to explain to anyone who cares to ask why this is so; and now Australia, courtesy of Treasury Secretary Dr. Ken Henry is about to adopt it with some gusto.

Went to Kerry Greenwood's booklaunch for Murder on a Midsummer Night in Yarraville this morning, which was well attended; the Santa and Elves acapella advertisement was amusing. On other writing topics, I've had a slower past few days on NaNoWriMo; now up to c30,000 words. Have also written a review for Middle Earth Role Playing for RPG.net which should go up soon. Playing MERP on Friday night, will be running RuneQuest on Sunday night, have created new scenes for Powers & Perils and HeroQuest PBeMs (none of which, regrettably count towards NaNoWriMo).

Comments

[taavi.livejournal.com]

Been meaning to ask you a question about land tax and environmental footprints. Say I'm a farmer with land that is quasi marginal (like a lot of australia). If I have to pay an increased tax for my use of that land, doesn't that create an incentive for me to use the most environmentally exploitative methods possible, if that will generate higher productivity in the short term, until the land is exhausted, and then let it revert to the commonwealth? I can see the applicability of the georgist land tax in an urban environment, but I think it could have perverse effects in our land-extensive rural sector; it doesn't provide an incentive for husbandry, light use of fragile soils, etc.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Good question.

A general principle to be applied in these circumstances is usufruct; so if the land is damaged by a person's use then they are liable for the damage they caused.

[discordia13.livejournal.com]

A better question is does one pay land tax on commonwealth leased land? A lot of graziers (particularly on coastal lands) are actually on leases.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

They get a seriously discounted land tax. Strictly speaking the annual rate of land tax should be roughly the same as the unimproved site rental value... Pastoral leases however are dirt cheap in comparison.