Comments on: Does anyone in Newcastle have vacant real estate?

By: john walker

john walker — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 05:41:55 +0000

The wide disparities in the way different forms of’ income’ are taxed and the market failures that this has created, was the heart of the Henry review. WE have created a incentive to turn personal/company income into capital gains income- even if at an apparent loss- ‘it is worth it from a tax point of view’ .

Much of the the background forces that have lead to the current ‘housing affordability crisis’ come down to the sad truth that a loss making capital gains project is a very effective way of legally minimizing personal tax.

By: marcus

marcus — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:18:49 +0000

@John. This is a very old post. This is from early 2008.

It is actually a precursor to the establishment of Renew Newcastle – the realisation that the city wasn’t empty because no one wanted to do anything but because there was a dysfunction set of incentives at work that meant people weren’t seriously trying to rent a lot of the spaces. They were worth more as tax deductions than as going concerns.

Hence: Renew Newcastle. It acts as intermediary so as to get around those issues. 60 projects and 30 or more once empty buildings late i’d like to think we’ve proved the point.

By: john mccann

john mccann — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:13:26 +0000

just saw this post, that’s unbelievable. That should have been a herald story – I’m sure Aaron Kearney at 1233 would give this story some legs.. . The CBD would work a lot better as an entertainment and eating district than what it is now…. 2 dollar shops, fast food chains, pharmacies, news agents, medicare, low end cloth. It’s a mix that doesn’t really work for anyone. China town, bars, brothels, tattoo parlors, cafes – would be great if there were all in one place instead of littered throughout the city.

By: keri

keri — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:33:11 +0000

I’d love Newcastle to have a Chinatown in the CBD, a big cheap yum cha as an alternative to the petite bourgeois restaurants at the foreshore and Darby St – even Canberra has Dixon.

Instead, in the Newcastle CBD, people are now being evicted to make way for another shopping mall (and some neo-colonial spanish steps?). It’s so not a shopping mall CBD, it’s on a peninsula so there’ll be traffic congestion.

And how cool if there were some DIY bars and kitchens set up in the empty real estate. Some of these enterprises might be economically viable if cheap rent was offered – we need a stack of start up grants to locals for hole in the wallers.

By: admin

admin — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:50:36 +0000

That’s actually true Nick. Will probably be the subject of a future post – particularly the comparison with the UK.

By: Nicholas Roberts

Nicholas Roberts — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 07:30:08 +0000

I think you will find its actually tax law that allows property owners to keep places vacant. Socialism for the rich and free markets for the poor. i.e. you cant find a place to rent for a cultural enterprise, while the landlords can claim deducations etc for vacant properties.