So the reason for this post is primarily to record a new fact - new to me anyway.
60 per cent of all rentals in New Zealand are subsidised by the Government.
Six out of ten rented homes are subsidised by the taxpayer.
That's all....apart from..... I would also observe the speech from Bill English (source of the information) began with:
I am old enough to remember the mid-1980s. After leaving university, I was involved in farming. At that time we had a number of arrangements in New Zealand that meant people who were involved in farming weren’t getting the right price signals. Then, suddenly, they did. I was a part of communities that were drastically affected by that. Farm subsidy systems were abruptly removed. Our communities changed drastically and dramatically.That was a sharp personal lesson, and one that many New Zealanders also experienced.
A strong focus of our policy is to make sure our markets work.
Yet the rental property market is still heavily subsidised and still not working.
8 comments:
In what way are they subsidized?
Through the Accommodation Supplement paid to people on benefits and to a lesser degree, Super.
They are also (if the popular press is to be believed) subsidised by landlords. How many times have you heard that people are renting places that they could not afford to buy? Or that the fact that landlords can offset their losses against other income and thus reduce their tax is unfair (they cant any longer, which truly is unfair). Or that landlords are prepared to pay more for a building than the value implied by the rental income because they are factoring in capital gains.
Yes. And landlords could also argue that they are only recouping the tax they paid through the subsidy. But my point remains that the govt is messing up the "price signals" (as per English' reference) in this market.
more to the point - while we have welfare, the dole, dpb, etc and most importantly communist state healthcare and education everything is subsidised in communist NZ
Welfare cannot be "reformed" - it can only be abolished.
Bit of an extreme view Anon.
I had no idea this was so common. Were there any figures attached as to how much the average rental is subsidised? I'm a bit annoyed to be part of the artificially highly paying minority here.
Most recent data here:
http://statistical-report-2012.msd.govt.nz/Supplementary+benefits/Accommodation+Supplement
And English said in speech:
"Today we spend $2 billion each year on accommodation subsidies."
Some of those subsidies are for boarding or paying a mortgage. Around two thirds are for private rentals.
Rents need to be capped in Auckland. Such a glut of overpriced dumps, the owners reaping the benefits, the renters marginalised and made use of. Some of these places you wouldn't put your dog in, but they, the landlords, expect high prices and just don't care. National feathering the nests of their rich mates, while vulnerable kids are affected. The housing crises can be laid at Key's door - Chinese money outbidding Kiwi born would-be owners Disgraceful and very bloody unfair. Black money, too.
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