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Labor has confirmed it will not take its divisive negative gearing policy to the next federal election.
In a Brisbane press conference held on Monday, 26 July, the Federal Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese, confirmed that Labor in government would “maintain existing regimes for negative gearing and capital gains tax”.
It ends a long-standing Labor Party stance to minimise the regime, which it had unsuccessfully taken to elections in 2016 and 2019.
Labor has previously sought to scrap negative gearing for existing properties and half the capital gains tax discount from 50 per cent to 25 per cent on new properties.
The Property Council of Australia (PCA) has praised the confirmation of cessation, calling it “a victory for common sense”.
It’s “a welcome recognition that these policies would have hurt the economy, cost construction jobs and had little impact on housing affordability”.
The PCA highlighted 2019 modelling it had commissioned from Deloitte Access Economics that found “Labor’s previous policy would have reduced GDP by $1.5 billion, shrunk the construction sector by $766 million, and failed to meet its stated objectives of improving housing affordability and increasing housing supply”.
According to Ken Morrison, CEO at the PCA: “The Opposition’s previous position on negative gearing and capital gains tax was always the wrong policy, at the wrong time, and voters at two elections knew it.
“We congratulate Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese, his shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers and shadow housing minister Jason Clare for seeing sense and providing this certainty well in advance of an election.”
Mr Morrison also said the decision means policymakers “can focus on measures that will make a material difference to the pressing challenge of housing affordability”.
He noted: “The vast majority of property investors are not rich property barons — they are everyday Australians looking to get ahead and providing the rental accommodation that is needed by the one-third of households who rent.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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