So you want to tax the family home?

Along with more taxation on our superannuation the government is apparently now considering taxing the family home when it is sold. Oh the Prime Minister denied they wanted to do it when the Treasurer refused to rule it out but the denial is worth nothing.

The government is undoubtedly desperately looking for ways to cover the cost of some of the outlandish promises they made in order to get elected. They were not in the least bit subtle about what they were doing. Remember the $275 rebate we were all going to get on our electricity bills? My next electricity bill will shortly arrive and it is going to go up rather than down - even though I know I will have used less power. Nobody is going to see a reduction. 

They will be hit in other ways too. But, the family home? In effect such a move would then cover all houses which are sold. It's not a good idea at all. What if someone wantes to sell up because they have been offered a new job in another location? Do you tax someone for that reason - especially if they moving to a location where housing may be more expensive? Moving house is expensive. My parents were forced to do it more than once because of the terms of their employment - teachers had to work anywhere in the state and could be moved at the whim of the Education Department.  They did have accommodation of a sort provided but they paid rent for it. If you did not have that then the expenses would be even higher.

And what of the person who wants to move into retirement or aged care accommodation? Isn't this something to be encouraged? Why should they pay something more for doing the sensible thing and freeing up the house they have been living in for an entire family?

I am no economist - something which is probably all too obvious - but it seems to me that a move like this would mean there would be people trying to remain in their own homes for longer. They would be struggling to maintain them. They might require other services which would be more expensive to provide to single dwellings. It would not, to my mind, be a cost effective move.

I thought too of those co-housing arrangements in some parts of Europe where they attempt to cater for both young and old in the same community. We still don't seem to do anything like that here. People still want single unit dwellings on their own block of land. It is even what they are encouraged to want although more duplexes are starting to appear.

There are already a great many unavoidable expenses which amount to a tax when moving house. Each time I look at something I add ten percent to the price they are asking to cover the associated costs.  

And the thought of having to clear out all the things in this house? Why should the government even consider asking us to pay to go through doing that?