#vacancytax — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #vacancytax, aggregated by home.social.
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@GhostOnTheHalfShell Exactly. Victoria is currently running the "progressive" tax playbook that San Francisco's Proposition M (the "Empty Homes Tax") aimed for—but with more teeth.
Here is the breakdown:
1. The Vacancy Reality
While SF's version has faced legal hurdles and local pushback, Victoria’s Vacant Residential Land Tax (VRLT) is already live. As of January 1, 2026, it has expanded to the entire state. If a property is empty for 6+ months, the tax hits hard and grows every year:
Year 1: 1% of the property’s total value.
Year 2: 2%.
Year 3+: 3%.
On a $1M home, that’s a $30,000 yearly penalty just for keeping it empty.
2. Targeting "Land Banking"
Starting this year (2026), Victoria is also taxing unimproved land in Melbourne that’s been sitting undeveloped for 5 years. It stops investors from just holding dirt and waiting for a payday while people struggle to find homes.
3. The "Stagnation" SecretThe media calls Melbourne’s flat house prices a "weak market," but it’s likely the policy working. By lowering the land tax threshold to just $50,000, the state has made it expensive to hold multiple properties. Investors are selling off because the "holding costs" now outweigh the profit.
It’s a massive experiment in using tax to force houses back onto the market—and the silence from the mainstream press suggests the "investor class" is feeling the squeeze.
#housingjustice #vicpol #vacancytax #melbourneproperty #landtax -
@investmentill It’s not just arrogance — it’s land banking. Leaving properties empty is a deliberate strategy to keep prices high. A simple vacancy tax, like those used elsewhere in the world, would curb this nonsense. But we don’t do that — we reward it.
#landbanking #housingcrisis #vacancytax #sydneyproperty #auspol -
In #Sydney, one in five homes in affluent suburbs like Neutral Bay, Kirribilli, #Bondi Beach, #PottsPoint, and Cremorne are sitting empty, with thousands more used as secondary residences. #NSW crossbench MPs suggest a #vacancytax, similar to Victoria's, to address the #housingsupply and #affordability crisis. This tax could fund housing for essential workers and bring more properties onto the rental market. MP Alex Greenwich supports this, especially for underutilised homes in areas like Millers Point. Greens MP Jenny Leong highlights the inequality where some own multiple homes while others struggle with rent, advocating for policies to move empty homes to the long-term rental market and regulate short-term rentals. She also calls for rent controls and an end to no-grounds evictions. The need for such measures is underscored by rising rents and increasing homelessness in NSW. #housingcrisis #rentalcrisis #landBanking #ForeignBuyers
(Article behind paywall) -
Zoning for more multiple-tenant dwellings is part of the solution. At the root, though, & ignored by this article, is the impact of Real Estate as Investment wo significant regulation
Preventing Foreign corporations & hedge funds from buying up housing & jacking up rents is an important piece. We need regs, incl a #VacancyTax, to curb that 💩
Also #Tacoma is still, incredibly, giving tax breaks to developers for building profitable market rate housing 🤦🏻♀️😖
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Global News BC: B.C. expanding speculation tax to Kamloops, Parksville, 11 other municipalities https://globalnews.ca/news/10108829/bc-speculation-tax-kamloops-parksville-expand/ #globalnews #britishcolumbia #news #primaryresidence #speculationtax #housingcrisis #KatrineConroy #PropertyOwner #RaviKahlon #VacancyTax #Politics #Economy #Housing
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Rich Chinese eye Australian homes as 700,000 set to emigrate by 2025 #vacancytax #rentalcrisis #housing #housingcrisis
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#Vacancytax could improve Australia's #housingcrisis #rentalcrisis #PigsFly #nevergonnahappen #property #lobbying
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@cooopsspace @ghost_shit this would never even be considered by the #PropertyCouncil sponsored #nsw government. Not to mention realestate.com.au owner #newscorpse , which seems sway #nswpol but SFA influence with the #vicpol ! #vacancytax
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A solution to #rentalcrisis and #affordablehousing problem that no one wants to talk about. A #tax on empty homes may be more effective than constructing new builds at creating affordable housing. Our #property revenue dependent #msm is never going to bring up the subject in #Australia #vacancytax #landBanking
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2019/feb/empty-homes-tax-may-make-housing-more-affordable
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#Sydney ’s exclusive eastern suburbs house was purchased by a Chinese billionaire in 2016 for $20 million, and has since sat empty.
Now, the Vaucluse home has been put back on the market, with Chinese food tycoon Sun Shao Feng hoping to fetch a cool $38 million. #vacancytax #landBanking #rentalcrisis -
Iconic #Sydney suburb becoming a ghost town | A Current Affair
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@therealpembo no no no, it’s all about “land banking”. My previous place had the top floor penthouse vacant for last 30 years. Overseas Chinese owners.
Same issues now with commercial properties;
A so-called “vacancy tax” was previously supported in 2019 by then small business commissioner Robyn Hobbs and then small business ombudsman Kate Carnell, but was never implemented. #vacancytax #auspol -
About time this started rolling out.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/finance-real-estate/anybody-home-toronto-brings-in-vacant-house-and-condo-tax/ar-AA15fl0l
pub: Toronto Sun