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> make the market unsustainable for anyone who isn't using the real estate productively That only works if the purchases are actually an investment. When real
by extra88 8y ago
> make the market unsustainable for anyone who isn't using the real estate productively
That only works if the purchases are actually an investment. When real estate is a form of money laundering, you expect to lose a portion of the value to the process of making dirty money clean. Also, a portion of the purchases are by people, say from China, who just want to park their money some place in a form where it can't be seized by the government, losing some of its value is again okay. A tax high enough to change these behaviors is unsustainable if applied equally to everyone and all properties.
- mcny 8y ago> That only works if the purchases are actually an investment. When real estate is a form of money laundering, you expect to lose a portion of the value to the process of making dirty money clean. Also, a portion of the purchases are by people, say from China, who just want to park their money some place in a form where it can't be seized by the government, losing some of its value is again okay. This is the beauty of taxation. It is an ongoing commitment. We can use it to our advantage. Even bumping taxes to something like 5% of value should wreak havoc (in a good way) to the market. > A tax high enough to change these behaviors is unsustainable if applied equally to everyone and all properties. Assuming the retail market cost is as much as people can afford (that's the entire point, right? people can't afford any higher rent?), there is no slack which means the people in the middle have to absorb the extra cost without passing it on. At least that is my naive position until proven otherwise.