Rob Frances

Demand a 3-Day work week:
1) Reform housing system to reduce cost from 40% to 20% of income.
2) Reform tax system to eliminate regressive payroll & sales taxes.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

Another small step towards gross receipts taxes, a smarter way to raise revenue. Forget the deductions: tax a small percent of receipts at low graduated tax rates, <5% for Biz that create goods & services and 15-25% on passive income like rents that are "created" by community.

[Bloomberg Tax @tax]

Canada will deny tax deductions for operators of short-term rentals listed on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo to help ease housing prices. https://t.co/h82Vx6il95

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@worldflood1 @jimstewartson Trump & Family are closely connected to NYC. Being "friendly" with the local mayor (who is likely mayor ~5-7 more years) is incredibly valuable no matter where one lives, esp if your business is real estate since the city can offer benefits (or pain) for future development plans.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

So succinct. Tax rent incomes. Reduce sales and payroll taxes.
"Real estate is like a put option on the US dollar" (expecting US$ to decline in value); "a call option on housing" (expecting rents and house values to increase); "it's an income annuity, and tax haven all in one."

[Joseph Moore @drjoemoore]

It's not any one thing that makes real estate such a unique investment. It's multiple things stacked. @TheCompoundNews

#realestate #historyhelps

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

"Shift the tax" ought to be a winner slogan across the US. Each level of Gov has loaded up on regressive payroll, sales and flat-rate income taxes. The first two are awful. SHIFTING TAX to progressive sources WITHOUT changing the total collected is a worthy goal for every region.

[Marshall Steinbaum 🔥 @Econ_Marshall]

Cut sales tax and figure out how to shift the tax burden to mobile capital and away from immobile labor.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@Econ_Marshall Taxing capital isn't easy. In many cases "legal" tools can be used to keep (some/most) profits away from the taxmen. Taxing rent income is superior to sales tax, regressive payroll tax and even most income taxes. Land/buildings don't move and rent income is fairly easy to audit.

[Aziz Sunderji @AzizSunderji]

The country's biggest and densest cities vote Democratic. Their failure to build more, faster, and cheaper stems mostly from the difficulty of building in dense places, not from ideology.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@TomPaczkowski @mickpll If it's true that many young people can't afford to own a home in their own country, they should be revolting, not complaining. Kick out the politicians by vote or protest and make new rules to support families and local homeowners, AND tax property speculators out of existence.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@DawidParzyk I heard Poland had very high homeownership. I'm (not) surprised landlords and speculators discovered Poland and other places that "opened up" their economy. We need a world-wide movement to ensure Speculators & Landlords pay the HIGHEST Income, Capital Gain & Property tax rates.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@AzizSunderji @thebeltwayagent Is this annualized growth or cumulative price changes? If the latter, it's seems surreal compared to differences along the west coast, esp near job centers. In blue shaded areas with high price growth, knowing the % bought by homeowners vs speculators would be interesting.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@jonlan @NewsLambert If jobs & employment remain steady it's a different situation than 2007. Many speculators bought houses post-2010 at low mortgage rates so there's not much pressure there. Current homeowners either have no or low mortgages. Main folks affected will be new entrants/young families.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@norbertjmichel Many in US can't afford housing. Basic needs include food, water, housing. If any missing the gov has has to go. Fed/states hand out billions of tax subsidies to landlords (interest, depreciation, 1031, tax basis step-up) it but can't afford to build housing. System needs change.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

US west coast is unique since large numbers of newly wealthy from China/Taiwan, India, Malaysia, Vietnam and other SE Asia locales often want to take wealth out of their country but remain reasonably close to their homelands. The US/Canada west coast is often a preferred landing.

[Aziz Sunderji @AzizSunderji]

The fact is that there is only so much land sitting under the world’s most beautiful, livable, economically dynamic cities.

The high earners attracted to these places, and created in their crucibles of economic growth, have high incomes that bid up land prices and the homes sitting on top.

This is the long running, global mechanism we have to face head-on if we are to make progress on the housing crisis.

More: https://t.co/gVOIGjh7at

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@SenWarren Replenish and strengthen the trust fund with modest 3-10% tax on rent incomes received so all workers benefit from the land value they create from their work. US payroll tax is regressive. Property/rent taxes are fairest. Since US can't use a property tax, rent tax is next best.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

I think causality is backwards. Because SF/BA is a perfect landing for the post-college crowd for its natural beauty, high-paying work and 1000s of similar 20 to 30-somethings, it attracts the affluent Date & Play/Mate demo. Thus it's high-priced. Post-40 priorities often change.

[Jim Russell @ProducerCities]

Both college-educated young-adult (25-34) domestic migrants & international migrants are attracted to high cost-of-living cities

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@AzizSunderji Most cities had local newspapers with rent prices advertised for apts and houses, which seem reliable sources. It's possible they would provide a researcher like yourself access to digital files if available. Craigslist might provide access to local rent ads for the past 25 yrs.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@TheStalwart "Working class/middle class" are terms for polemics & politicians. The 'hated' Boomer class has many households with relatively low incomes and wealth (modest stocks/bonds and often own a home), but a relatively low cost of living doesn't need high incomes for a decent "MC" life.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@Sanjay_Uppal @TheStalwart Chart needs to include 66th and 75th percentiles. Some believe there's a large difference between those at 80 or 90 percentile and those at 55 or 65. Also, a wealth chart without an income chart (and vice-versa) is incomplete. Many are closer to top/bottom on one, but not other.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@OnlyInBOS Owners of multiple houses are unlikely to give up the current rent income and future land/house appreciation (Rich folks hoarding assets). The Gov gives billions of valuable tax deductions to landlords and passive owners, plus there's no capital gain tax when it's given to heirs.

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@just_in_brown @TheStalwart Some places (s/b everywhere) allow seniors to add unpaid property tax as liens on their home, paid off when it's sold/transferred. This policy prevents evictions and the state/county/city gets its property tax, plus interest on unpaid tax.
No evictions, no unpaid tax. Win-Win

[Rob Frances @RFrances2]

@TheStalwart Anyone interested in improving US housing situation-YIMBY or NIMBY-ought to focus on this part of the report: "Removing step-up basis..."
Repealing IRC 1014 ought to be #1 priority, which will encourage home sales and raise significant tax. Use 50% of tax $ to build more housing!