Greens pushing Labor to scrap property tax breaks
Kat Wong |
The federal government has again rejected a Greens push to put property tax break reforms back on the agenda, if Labor ends up in minority government after the election.
In an address to the National Press Club on Wednesday, Greens leader Adam Bandt will reiterate calls to scrap negative gearing and discounts to capital gains taxes for housing investors.
While the Greens have put up the policies in previous elections, Mr Bandt said that this time, they would be a bargaining chip for Labor if it wants his support to form government after May 3.
But when asked if Labor would consider this, election campaign spokesman Jason Clare ruled it out.
“No, flat-out no,” he told Sky News on Wednesday.
“What we want to do is build more homes.”
Labor has previously explored similar ideas. Former leader Bill Shorten went to the 2019 election promising to curb negative gearing before losing. In September, the party asked Treasury to model the impact of changes to those tax concessions.
Labor, in lock-step with the coalition, later turned away from property tax reforms but its hand could be forced after the election – unless it wins a majority.
Polls are pointing to a tight contest between the major parties, leaving the door open to neither the coalition nor Labor gaining the necessary 76 seats to form a majority government.
The Greens have already said that they would not support the coalition into government.
Negative gearing allows investors to claim deductions on losses and the capital gains tax discount halves the amount of tax paid by Australians who sell assets that have been owned for 12 months or more.
“If we don’t stop the bastards, house prices will get further and further out of reach, rents will continue to keep rising,” Mr Bandt will say in his speech.
“Imagine being a renter, armed with your life savings, rocking up to an auction knowing that wealthy property investor next to you gets a big fat cheque from Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton.”
Under the Greens plan, the handouts would be subject to a grandfather clause to one investment property to protect ‘mum and dad’ investors, but the capital gains tax discount for all other assets would be scrapped.
“If you want to buy more than two investment properties, that’s your prerogative, but you shouldn’t expect a giant government cheque to help you buy your third, fourth or fifteenth house, while millions have none,” Mr Bandt will say in the address.
The party, which has four lower house MPs, is also pushing for a freeze on rents and adding dental treatment for adults to Medicare.
The minor party is hoping to wrest the lower house Adelaide seat of Sturt from the Liberals, alongside some of Labor’s inner-city Melbourne seats, while sandbagging three urban Brisbane electorates.
AAP
