Foxy,

The best solution is to replace the GST (and other state taxes) with a broad based land tax. Then we can abolish those restrictions, safe in the knowledge that the benefits will flow to Australians.

That goes for agricultural land too.

Here are some facts to juxtapose against the xenophobia.
From the Bureau of Stats and the FIRB :

1. 88% of all Australian land is fully Australian owned. A further 5% is jointed owned by some Aust and some overseas entity with the Australian party being the majority owner. A mere 7% is majority owned by overseas entities with less than 1% being fully overseas owned.

2. Of the countries that make up these overseas owners, the biggest by far is the US, followed by Canada and Singapore. China runs fourth and way behind these others eg US ownership is three times greater than Chinese ownership.

Non-resident, non-citizens are forbidden from buying land or housing other than new apartments or houses that they intend to demolish and replace with multiple dwellings. The aim is to create a market for new construction to increase building jobs and our total housing stock.

All overseas owned housing must pay all the usual taxes and if rented out they must pay tax on any profits and withholding tax on any money repatriated.

China would be the best of two evils if we were to choose between Sharia law and or corrupt Chinese Government.

That would mean taxing many people's only asset, their home, on which they have already paid Stamp Duty and a host of other taxes too.

No doubt as a Green you would want Death Duty too, no sense in not making that final grab as well, eh?

What about everyone refusing to pay more and new taxes? To give government some incentive to manage more efficiently.

Honestly, as if the public are not aware that any new taxes are always on top of what they are paying now.

Sorry, in case anyone is confused, my post above was in reply to Aidan.

onthebeach,
"That would mean taxing many people's only asset, their home, on which they have already paid Stamp Duty and a host of other taxes too."
That is true, and it's an obvious disadvantage. It means the tax will have to be phased in very slowly, and possibly with some temporary exceptions, to avoid unfairly disadvantaging existing landowners. But the long term benefits are so great that it's worth doing despite those technical obstacles.

"No doubt as a Green..."
I am not, and never have been, a member of the Green Paarty. i support some of their policies and oppose others.

"...you would want Death Duty too, no sense in not making that final grab as well, eh?
I oppose death duties, however I am open tho the idea of treating inheritance as taxable income.

"What about everyone refusing to pay more and new taxes?"
I'm extremely stringly opposed to that, as it would make the government more reliable on old taxes like stamp duty and the GST (both of which I want to see abolished).

"To give government some incentive to manage more efficiently."
It wouldn't encourage genuine efficiency; it would encourage the government to resort to false economies.

"Honestly, as if the public are not aware that any new taxes are always on top of what they are paying now."
There is no reason why that has to b so. Taxes have been abolished before and they can be again.