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Prosper Australia

@prosperaustralia.bsky.social

100 followers 71 following 81 posts

We are an independent research institute focusing on fair and sustainable revenue policy. prosper.org.au

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Jan 23

We need a #TaxShift for our future. From taxes harming workers and industry to taxes on unearned income and monopolies. For economic justice, prosperity, and the environment. Read and download more tinyurl.com/3jautz96 #TaxReform

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · 5d

Imagine what economic fairness would look like for Australia if wealth was common and used for the benefit of all.

It’s time to shift the tax burden from earned incomes onto unearned wealth.

Read more: www.prosper.org.au/2...

#TaxShift
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Australia’s land wealth passes $10 trillion as tax burden stays on workers | Prosper Australia

Australia’s total land value has soared past $10 trillion, according to new ABS data — yet ordinary workers continue to shoulder most of the nation’s tax load.

www.prosper.org.au

Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · 5d

Land value rises due to public investment and location, not individual effort. Reducing or removing the CGT discount, alongside broader value capture policies, would ensure these gains benefit the whole community.
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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · 5d

Australia’s land wealth now exceeds $10 trillion, yet most Aussies are still paying the bulk of taxes on their labour.

Other resource-rich nations reinvest unearned gains for the public, we let them flow largely untaxed to private owners.

📊: ABS ASNA, Table 61 2024-25
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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · 27d

Australia’s tax settings reward property speculation and punish affordability.

At the Henry George Commemorative Address, John Alexander OAM argued for shifting the focus back to housing as shelter.

Full video & transcript: www.prosper.org.au/2...

Should we be concerned at this time, our housing sector, as to how long our housing sector has been an investment sector and with the accompanying volatility, to the point that our housing sector, which is our biggest economic sector, is often referred to as a Ponzi scheme?

And if you reflect on that, what a Ponzi scheme is, what the components of a Ponzi scheme are, the glove fits.

John Alexander OAM - 2025

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Sep 29

High-speed rail is more than transport, it is a national settlement strategy.

But funding it requires value capture, so the uplift in land values contributes to the public investment that created it.

Full video & transcript: www.prosper.org.au/2...

Remember, we now have the lowest rate of home ownership in this country for the last 60 years. Where are we going? What is our trajectory?

Are we going from a commonwealth to a country dominated by landlords and real estate speculators, funded and fueled by tax systems and taxpayer-funded infrastructure that concentrates wealth further between those two groups of landlords and speculators?

John Alexander OAM - 2025

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Sep 26

Faster trains? Here’s how.

At Prosper’s Henry George Dinner, John Alexander OAM explained why value capture is essential for funding infrastructure and making housing serve as shelter, not speculation.

Watch & read: www.prosper.org.au/2...

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Sep 11

We completely agree. It will be a sad day for Australian politics, economics, and journalism when he retires. We need more of him in the world. That's one of the reasons we created the award - to shine a light on the thoughtful writers dedicated to public interest journalism.

Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Sep 10

Read the winning article: www.theage.com.au/business/the...

Productivity Commission wants our big mining companies to pay more ‘rent’

There are many companies and individuals earning “economic rent” that we can’t do much about. The commission sees this as a problem.

www.theage.com.au

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Sep 10

Congratulations to Ross Gittins from
@sydmorningherald.bsky.social and The Age winner of the 2025 E.J. Craigie Award for the best #georgist article for the year.
READ: prosper.org.au/2025/09/este... #rossgittins #craigieaward

But if economic rent is bad for the economy - if it reduces efficiency and holds back living standards - doesn't that mean taxing it, even taxing it quite heavily, can help reduce the budget deficit without harming the economy? Ross Gittins, winner of the 2025 E.J. Craigie Writing Award

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Sep 2

Last call for tickets to the Henry George Annual Commemorative Address & Dinner.

As cities grow and regions expand, the cost of infrastructure soars. Governments face rising debts — unless they harness value capture to fund growth fairly.

BOOK: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/134th-annu...

134th Annual Henry George Commemorative Dinner and Address

Join us for the 134th Henry George Commemorative Dinner and Address, to be delivered by John Alexander OAM

www.eventbrite.com.au

Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 29

100!

Thank you to all our followers who have joined us since we started on Bluesky. That’s 100 reminders that value comes from community.

Thanks for being part of ours.

Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 25

So what does this mean for Australia’s infrastructure future? Find out at the 134th Henry George Dinner with one of the leading advocates for finance reform: John Alexander OAM tinyurl.com/2025hgd
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134th Annual Henry George Commemorative Dinner and Address

Join us for the 134th Henry George Commemorative Dinner and Address, to be delivered by John Alexander OAM

tinyurl.com

Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 25

When we invest in transport, health & education, land values surge. That’s why value capture isn’t a tax – it’s a dividend from our shared investment. #auspol
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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 21

Sydney’s Metro handed landowners a $7.4B free ride.

Taxpayers pay for the project → landlords pocket the gains.

Value capture would recycle that windfall back into public investment.

WATCH: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w_8...

#auspol #taxreform

Line graph titled “Sydney Metro Northwest HPM Results – Industrial, commercial, residential and mixed-use land uses.” It shows percentage changes in land values from 2009 to 2019 at three distances from the metro: within 0–400m (blue), 400–800m (orange), and 800–1600m (grey). Values near the stations (0–400m) surged most, rising to about +31% by 2019. Land 400–800m away rose to about +15%, while land 800–1600m away rose modestly, under +10%. Key milestones marked include funding commitment (2011), commencement of construction (2014), and commencement of operations (2019).

Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 21

Day 3 of the Roundtable and tax reform is finally on the agenda. The test: will we recognise that productivity gains come when we shift taxes off earned incomes & onto unearned ones? Every high-performing economy gets this right. We should too. We need a tax shift. #auspol prosper.org.au/taxshift

#TaxShift | Prosper Australia Campaigns

We all deserve a fair share of nature’s gifts, and fair reward for our work. It’s time to talk about the #TaxShift we need for Australia.

www.prosper.org.au

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 20

Saudi Arabia increases vacant land tax to 10%. Can't argue with that if you're a landowner. You have to do something with it or sell, quickly! www.thenationalnews.com/business/pro...

Saudi Arabia’s land tax to unlock real estate supply as new foreign buyers eye properties | The National

Kingdom has increased annual levy on undeveloped land to encourage owners to develop or sell

www.thenationalnews.com

Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 20

Here's a chart we would've liked to have seen in the briefing docs for participants in the Roundtable.

But there seems to be little focus on addressing wealth inequality. Instead, the elephants are left stomping around the room.

We need a tax shift.

www.prosper.org.au/taxshift/

#auspol

Chart: Australian Land Values to GDP from macrobusiness. Data source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 18

By tackling land-based monopoly and shifting to smarter land and tax policies, we can unlock more dynamic, equitable, and productive growth.

Read our submission: www.prosper.org.au/2...
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Economic Reform Roundtable submission | Prosper Australia

To improve productivity Australia needs to shift taxes off work and enterprise and onto the economic rents from land, natural resources, and monopolies.

www.prosper.org.au

Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 18

For the Economic Reform Roundtable to be a serious conversation about productivity reform, it must confront the role of monopoly in our economy.
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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 18

Moreover, when productivity gains are achieved, too often they are capitalised into higher land prices. This transfers the benefits of growth from workers and businesses to landowners, further entrenching inequality and locking future generations out of opportunity.
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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 18

Current tax settings encourage this monopoly behaviour by rewarding land banking and underutilisation. The consequence is lower productivity, fewer opportunities for business and housing, and diminished community outcomes.
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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 18

When land is treated as a vehicle for speculative gain rather than useful activity, the result is a form of monopoly — ownership without use — which distorts markets and undermines growth.
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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 18

Economic productivity depends not just on labour and capital, but on how effectively land and resources are put to use.
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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 9

WATCH: What is the economic answer to the question: why are houses built? Tim Helm has been working with @drcameronmurray to explore the current theories and see how effective they are at answering the question. www.youtube.com/watc...

Tim Helm: Zoning, housing supply, & affordability seminar

Vested interests shape tax and housing policy in Australia. As high house prices continue to dominate the headlines, many remain sceptical of the “supply-side solutions” – or diversions – favoured by desperate politicians. Massive upzoning is underway nationwide – from NSW’s Transport Oriented Deve

www.youtube.com

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Prosper Australia @prosperaustralia.bsky.social · Aug 6

Nominate for the 2025 Craigie Award

In an economy where large amounts of wealth is made not by work, but by monopolising land & resources, inequality grows and opportunity shrinks.

That's a story worth telling, and we celebrate those that do.

www.prosper.org.au/a...

The E.J. Craigie Writing Award

In 2014 Prosper created the E. J. Craigie Writing Award, to join Australia’s economic debate, advocate reform, and contest poor policy.

www.prosper.org.au

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