The housing crisis is really just another cost of government crisis. It’s hurting families trying to buy their first home and the small builders trying to provide them. At a federal level, mass immigration is putting pressure on demand, and state and local zoning restrictions and regulations are stopping supply from keeping up. The Libertarian Party has policies to address these problems, but one often overlooked factor is the massive tax and regulation burden. For a new four-bedroom house and land package in Sydney’s suburbs, you’d be looking at $1,200,000 or more. How much of that went straight to tax and government fees? - Infrastructure levies and developer contributions: $70,000 - GST baked into construction and the sale: $110,000 - Stamp duty on the land (paid by the builder when they bought the site): $35,000 - Payroll tax, superannuation, income tax & corporate tax on the tradies, suppliers and builder’s slim margin: $90,000 - Council fees, planning approvals, land tax, licensing & compliance red tape: $40,000+ - Biodiversity offsets: $10,000 - Additional costs from net zero energy efficiency mandates: $10,000 Total direct taxes and government fees from your $1,200,000 are over $365,000, and that’s before the buyer pays another $48,000 in stamp duty on top. Independent studies shows that when you include all the endless delays due to red tape, compliance and overheads, it’s closer to 49%. Nearly $590,000 going straight to the government per new Sydney home. So how dare they talk about housing affordability! Next time you’re looking at a new home, remember that a huge chunk of that price isn’t going to the land, the bricks, the tradies or the builder trying to keep the project alive. It’s funding the big fat state. If I’m elected to NSW Parliament next year I’ll stand up for free markets and free families by smashing this tax burden and slashing the red tape so more families can actually afford a home of their own. @LibertariansNSW