Should stamp duty be abolished or not? It’s a topic of discussion that pops up every now and then. Economists have long argued the Stamp Duty Tax to be ancient, that transactions shouldn’t be penalized.

Former Treasury Secretary Ken Henry likened stamp duty to an addiction for States, calling it a drug you can’t get yourself off, given that the tax makes up a quarter of state tax revenues. But how do you replace a tax like that, surely you can’t just cut it and put a different tax in its place?

Rather than that, I strongly suggest that the whole tax system of Australia gets an overhaul as part of a mid-term strategy towards a tax system where State taxes blend in better with the National taxes and are more uniform. So let all states and the federal government join forces and let our society be taxed properly, but there is a side note. Changing the tax system could also see it replaced by something worse, if it’s not done property.

I am pro change, but I do really hope the people in the position to call the shots are also able to call the right shots.