Aussie John calls for property tax reform

Aussie John is making sense today at the AFR:

Aussie Home Loans chairman John Symond says interest only loans should be banned for people buying a house to live in, and he understands concerns regulators have about big price rises in Sydney driven by investors.

…”The majority of investors buying houses for investment are PAYG taxpayers – if they got in trouble with the investment and had to sell that would create the domino effect. If there is a rush for the exits then that affects mums and dads.”

Mr Symond said investors are making it hard for first home buyers, but what has to be tackled is the root cause of the big price rises – including taxes on house construction, which are contributing to housing supply not keeping up with demand.

Good to see someone discussing both demand and supply sides an argument that is all too often polarised.