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I realise that 'If it bleeds it reads' is almost a cliche' now. However I cannot think of a better way to describe what I read in Herald over the weekend. I read an article by a gentleman named Brian Fallow. The article suggested adding GST to the rents and the mortgages. I dont know in which cheek  his tongue was when he wrote this reactionary piece. The fact that it gets space in Herald just confirms my opinion that the more ridiculous the comments are, better are the chances of them getting published.

If majority of the renters are supported by the Government (HNZ is the biggest landlord) where does the GST money come from? Should more taxes  be collected to pay for this levy? If pigs do fly and Brian's suggestion is implemented it might concievably dent the investment market. However it begs a question–what happens to those thousands of people on the property waiting list of HNZ? Who provides housing for them?

Brian says that the property prices have gone up hugely between 2002-2007 and that, is a mis-allocation of resources. This is not new. Property has gone up in every single decade from the time Kiwis started buying and selling properties. We still believe buying rental properties, preferrably rent guaranteed investment properties is the best hedge against having a retirement that is goverment-handout-dependent (if it is still there!!!). I vehemently resent the half baked suggestions that do nothing but raise doubts in the minds of the average investors. It does get some space in the media though for the publicity seeking writers.