Housing Crisis... your fault, old people

I understand this, what will be will be.

 

Mum paid her taxes, worked hard all her life, not 1 day on the dole, I am sure she funded some undesirables via her taxes in her working career. No control over this.

I am not going to argue whether old age pension is right or wrong, I am just glad this country has one of the best systems in the world

Do you think it's fair that most parents will pass on their assets to their children, I assume you will do the same,? I certainly will be.

MTR

 

Eventually, something will be done given the deteriorating fiscal situation and the demographics. I'd wish it would be done sooner. It's not only a burden on taxpayers but also hurts those who legitimately worked hard to live without a pension.

Unfortunately, these two solutions are not really that palatable. I've wondered why there's no push for an inheritance/death tax. ie keep PPOR exempt, take the pension but essentially help to fund your pension via an inheritance tax. Less politicially sensitive I would have thought than forcing retirees to take a reverse mortgage.

 

Well, I have friends who would be late 50's with their own business and they built the biggest home in Bella Vista Waters. Even installed an internal lift. The wife said to me this is part of their plan for when they are old because there is no tax on the home....

 

I will do whatever is within the rules at the time, but if I need to rely on taxpayers to fund my living expenses in retirement then no I don't think it would be fair if I did that while still being able to pass on assets of substantial value.

 

Ya..for the moment ja....zee gubbermint...shall taketh at some point very soon..particularly if the 15% GST goes not take off....

 

Words are cheap, sorry but I don't buy this

so you will reject inheritance from your parents if they were on old age pension? Give me a break...if it's yes, I think you will need to be committed to a psych ward

 

If my mum had a sizable asset then I would want her to cash it in and (more than) live off the proceeds. I have no right or claim to her assets and would want her to enjoy them rather than live just above the poverty line to give me something when she kicks the bucket.

 

What don't you understand about "I will do whatever is within the rules at the time..."?

I don't think there should be a First Home Owners Grant, but I still put in the application and took the funds when I was eligible.

I'm not asking what you will do, but do you think it's fair that someone can have their living expenses covered by taxpayers only to pass on a sizable asset to their children? What if it was a million dollars worth of Gold instead of a million dollar PPOR?

 

I don't think Australians would take too kindly to Inheritance taxes that are common around the world, for example in the UK its 40% of everything above 325000 pounds (700K AUD). So if an estate was worth $2M the government would take about a quarter of it. A lot of Europe is the same, US also but their threshold is high. You even get taxed on "gifts" so you cant escape the tax that way either just before carking it.

 

Oh wow. Thanks for the insight @Casteller.

 

@Casteller, I am not a fan of broad inheritance taxes (or taxes in general), but I don't think it's a fair system where someone without their own home who retires with a couple of million dollars worth of shares is expected to fund their own retirement, but someone with a couple of million dollars worth of PPOR is able to live off the taxpayer and then pass the asset on.

 

Same.
But funnily enough, I'd rather have a tough life and give everything to my kids.

 

Doesn't apply though to the old grannies living in $2M houses though... PPOR free of CGT.

 

Yep.
And look, its not the old grannies fault at all.... they are just playing by the rules.
You might as well do that if the laws of the country allows it.

 

This is really dynastic in ambition!
Personally, none for me from inheritance! Give it to those in the family who need it. Me, none.

On the other hand, I would think it is misguided of the government to play Robin Hood with my wealth or possessions. What I earned I should be able to keep after paying equitable tax for government services. If the government wants to play Robin Hood with my possessions, I would rather preempt that and give it to the charity of my choice. I expect an ethical government to respect that.

If I ever seem like needing the age pension from the government, I would expect to exhaust all options of using my own equity first.

 

Love the spin, pass me the tissues.

Tells me you have no clue how well some retirees live, those who own everything, and network in their communities. Shame you are buying the media spin they can milk it...hehe

I suppose you are not plannng to pass on your assets to your children?. joke joke...

By the tone of your post you seem more concerned about my inheritance than how my mother lives... wow.......no need to worry .. Making judgement calls is not very smart, you don't know me.

Did you decide to ignore the part where I stated I fund my own retirement today.

MTR