ACOSS strongly applauds the Government and the Parliament for the passage of capital gains discount and negative gearing legislation, calling it a historic and long-overdue victory for economic fairness and housing affordability and stability.
These vital tax reforms, which ACOSS has advocated for since the 1990s, represent a generational shift toward a tax system that works for everyone rather than subsidising wealth accumulation for those already well off.
"Today is a historic day for fairness in Australia. Tax breaks like the capital gains discount and negative gearing have supercharged inequality and fuelled the housing crisis, damaging the budget and community," ACOSS CEO Dr Cassandra Goldie said.
"The passage of these reforms marks a turning point in how we treat housing – as a place for people to live as a basic human right instead of a speculative investment.
"It's not fair that an investor on $200,000 or more pays tax at a lower rate than a worker on a modest wage. It's not fair that our tax system contributes to around two thirds of the value of shares and investment property being held by the wealthiest 10%.
"We congratulate the Albanese government for taking on this issue after it was kicked down the road for far too long.
"We also commend the Greens and all parliamentarians who have advocated to curb these investment tax concessions over many years and voted today to secure this outcome.
"It takes political courage to reform entrenched tax breaks and today's result shows meaningful change is possible.
"Importantly, these reforms have also been due to the extraordinary advocacy of many in civil society who have campaigned for investor tax reform relentlessly and for years. We congratulate everyone in civil society who has worked for so long to make the case for this reform. ACOSS is proud to have played its role.
"ACOSS welcomes the government's plans to continue to tackle inequity in our tax system through the minimum tax on discretionary trusts.
"Curbing unfair tax advantages generates significant revenue that helps fund the practical solutions we know are urgently needed to lift incomes, improve housing affordability and reduce inequality," Dr Goldie said.
