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Less than a quarter of voters believe that investor tax settings should stay as they are.
A poll by research group RedBridge, commissioned by housing campaign Everybody’s Home, revealed that only a small minority of Australians are in favour of maintaining investor-friendly tax settings.
The poll of 1,500 Australian voters found that 58 per cent, or three in five, are in support of limiting or abolishing negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.
Only 22 per cent stated a desire to maintain the current tax settings, while 20 per cent stated they are unsure.
Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize stated: “Investor tax breaks have turned housing into an asset instead of a basic social need. Voters know it’s unfair that landlords get handouts when so many can’t afford a home.”
She continued: “This housing crisis has been decades in the making as successive governments have chosen to featherbed private investors while walking away from building homes themselves – they have turned their backs not only on people on the lowest incomes but also on ordinary Australians who are struggling to afford a place to live.”
According to the survey, young voters aged 18 to 34 are hit the hardest by the current housing crisis, with half of that group spending at least 40 per cent of their income on housing. In comparison, only 9 per cent of voters aged 65 and over spend the same proportion of their income on housing.
In addition, the survey found that 47 per cent of voters are currently experiencing housing stress, defined as spending at least 30 per cent of their income on housing.
“Investor tax handouts benefit those who already own property, and make it harder for those who do not,” said Azize. “They are driving up housing costs and making wealth inequality worse.”
“The appetite for change is here, and it’s happening in the absence of leadership from the major parties who are afraid to champion tax reform,” the spokesperson stated.
Azize acknowledged the reticence that major parties feel towards effecting investor tax reform, but noted it is a “tired trope that negative gearing cost Labor the 2019 election” and suggested that voter sentiment has since changed.
“Five years on and a worsening housing crisis later, Australian voters want reform on unfair tax breaks for investors,” Azize said. “There is a huge opportunity for the politicians who are bold enough to take on this policy reform.”
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