It's what every investor wants to hear - Treasury boss Martin Parkinson believes real estate stamp duty should be removed or decreased.
The main reason duty should be ditched, according to Parkinson, is because it's making it harder for workers to move west and north to take advantage of the mining boom.
"We need to encourage change, not stand in the way," he told an Australian Industry Group forum.
"That's why I make specific reference to State Governments (Queensland and Western Australia)."
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reports New South Wales made $3.9 billion from real estate stamp duties in the year to June, about one third of the national total. Abolishing it could be paid for by increasing the goods and services tax by a quarter, from its current rate of 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent.
The Sydney Morning Herald adds the Henry Tax Review reported "there's no place for stamp duty in a modern tax system".
"The only positive feature for stamp duty - its relative simplicity - has long since ceased to justify its continued use in the face of the costs it imposes on Australian society," the review says.
