“Middle way” to solving housing crisis

INDEPENDENT senator David Pocock is urging politicians to consider a ‘sensible’ way forward on tax breaks to improve supply.

Modest adjustments to property investors’ tax concessions will save billions in the federal budget and help fund housing supply, the independent senator claims.

Spats over negative gearing tax breaks, which allow investors to claim deductions on losses, have resurfaced.

The capital gains tax discount, which halves the amount of tax paid by those who sell assets owned for a year or more, is also at the centre of heated political discussions.

Senator David Pocock has revived economic analysis to advocate for changes to these “overly generous tax concessions” saying it push the conversation forward as the housing crisis worsens.

Data first presented by Senator Pocock and his independent colleague Jacqui Lambie in April, shows limiting negative gearing to one property and allowing the capital gains tax discount for new builds. Grandfathering existing tax arrangements, would save up to $16 billion over the next decade.

These savings could be used to fund social and affordable housing projects, boosting supply.

“It’s not that we either scrap the whole thing, or we don’t touch it,” Senator Pocock said.

“There’s a sensible middle path to reform.

“We are in a housing crisis and I’m concerned politicians aren’t clocking just how bad this is across the country.”

Senator Pocock has highlighted the urgency of the situation and called on the major parties to discuss a range of issues impacting the housing market including tax, planning, stamp duty and migration.

“For so long, housing has been an investment vehicle, a way to build wealth, rather than a human right, that is actually affordable and accessible to Australians,” he said.

“More and more people, even people who’ve done well, are realising that this isn’t working for us.”

The federal government has batted away questions about whether it will take negative gearing reforms to the next election after reports Treasury had carried out modelling on the policy change. 

Cabinet minister Bill Shorten, who led Labor to a narrow election defeat in 2019 after proposing to limit negative gearing to new investment properties, said the government was focused on supply.

“I’m very sure we’re not taking our 2019 policies to the 2025 election,” he said.

Labor’s key Help to Buy and Build to Rent policies have been blocked by resistance from the coalition and the Greens, who want a cap on rent increases and phase-outs on property developers’ tax handouts.