Key Points
- Anthony Albanese told the ABC his government had no plans to reform negative gearing at the next election.
- The Prime Minister came under scrutiny after media reports claimed the Treasury was modeling negative gearing and capital gains discounting changes.
- Albanese denied ordering the Treasury to review policies and said it was a good thing for the civil service to be “creative”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said his government has no plans to reform negative leverage before the next election.
Albanese has been under scrutiny since Monday, following a Sydney Morning Herald report claiming the government was studying its options and modeling.
The measures allow property investors to offset losses from operating a property against their income and halve the amount of tax they have to pay on any profits when they eventually sell.
Asked on Wednesday on ABC whether he planned to bring negative debt and capital gains tax reform to the next election, he replied: “no, that’s not the case.”
He said the government was focused on reducing supply through a range of measures, including the Homes for Australia policy and “putting downward pressure on inflation”.
In other breakfast television interviews on Wednesday dominated by this issue, Albanese repeatedly said there were “no plans” to touch the tax break.
Anthony Albanese denies asking Treasury to consider options
On Tuesday, Albanese denied ordering anyone to review policy options and said it was a good thing for the civil service to be “creative.”
“Treasury doesn’t need to be directed, it’s not schoolchildren with teachers in front of the class, telling them what to do,” Albanese said.
“I want a civil service that is interested in ideas and policies.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said his department “looks at all kinds of different policies from time to time.”
Would the changes have an impact on housing supply?
Albanese also expressed doubts about whether negative leverage changes would be positive for investment in housing supply, which he said remains the priority.
“The problem is that all the analysis shows that a move to negative leverage will not help supply,” he told Sky News.
The Prime Minister’s comments came under scrutiny after he and his ministers repeatedly claimed there were “no plans” to change the stage three tax cut program – a Labor Party election promise – before announcing an overhaul.
The opposition has criticized Albania’s “no plans” rhetoric, with housing spokesman Michael Sukkar calling it “verbal gymnastics” similar to that used before Labor’s tax cuts.
Albanese defended changing the tax package to favor low-to-middle incomes, saying times had changed.
The Greens took the opportunity to argue that economic times had indeed changed and that was why negative debt and capital gains reform was needed.
