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The Prime Minister is under fire over claims he misled the public about a review into the impact of potential changes to negative gearing.
The Liberal Party has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of lying about modelled changes to scale back negative gearing and capital gains tax, urging Labor to be more transparent and “come clean [about] its secret plans”.
In a statement last week, shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said that Albanese “lied down the camera” about negative gearing and capital gains tax during a televised debate on 17 April.
Speaking in the debate, Albanese said it “was not right” that the government had requested the Treasury modelling. However, in September 2024, it emerged that the Albanese government had asked Treasury for advice on possible changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions.
But despite asking for modelling on the reforms last year, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has previously said that negative gearing will not be on the Labor agenda, with the party instead focusing on other housing-related policies like its Help to Buy scheme.
Speaking about the Prime Minister’s comments during the debate, Taylor said: “Treasury officials have consistently obfuscated and failed to provide direct answers about the nature of this advice.
“As Australians head to the ballot box in 16 days time it is critically important they know whether the Treasurer or the government requested a costing or modelling on changes to negative gearing and/or capital gains tax from the Treasury.”
The Liberals urged Labor to rule out any changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax in the next term of Parliament while saying the Treasurer must specify what and when Labor requested the Treasury Secretary to analyse negative gearing.
“The Prime Minister lied to the Australian public on camera about his hidden plans to raise taxes on housing,” Taylor alleged.
“If Labor has nothing to hide, it should release this modelling and allow Treasury to provide a full briefing to the Opposition on the detail, timing, and nature of these requests.”
Gearing up for a fight
While neither of the two main political parties has pledged to change negative gearing this election, it has become a key issue for the Greens.
The Greens have pledged to end negative gearing and the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount, should they gain power in a minority government after the federal election on 3 May.
According to the Greens, the change is needed as current tax concessions make it “easier for a wealthy property investor to buy their fifth or sixth home than a renter to buy their first”.
Last year, analysis from the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) – commissioned by Senate crossbenchers David Pocock and Jacqui Lambie – outlined the case for the government to curb concessions for property investors.
The reforms could unlock up to $60 billion over the next decade, which could be directed towards increasing housing supply, according to the modelling.
The PBO analysed five policy options, finding that even retaining a 25 per cent CGT discount for new homes and disallowing negative gearing for investment properties could save the government $670 million to 2026–27 and $15.7 billion in the decade to 2033–34.
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