The Australian Greens welcome ACOSS's calls to urgently address the unfair tax breaks that benefit property investors, as well as their call for redirecting funds to building more social housing."
Momentum is growing - ACOSS joins a chorus of stakeholders, including the ACTU and banks, calling on the government to wind back negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount ahead of the Government's Economic Reform Roundtable."
Under the Greens 2025 election policy, both negative gearing and the CGT discount would be grandfathered to one existing investment property and removed on all second and subsequent properties, ensuring "mum and dad" investors with a single investment property are not negatively impacted, while disincentivising future speculative and unproductive investment in the property market."
As stated by Greens spokesperson for housing Senator Barbara Pocock:
"Every day these tax handouts keep flowing to wealthy property investors, the housing crisis gets worse. They're cooking our housing system and fuelling intergenerational inequality. Ending the housing crisis is possible, but it's up to Labor."
"Momentum is growing - we've seen calls from across the sectors - unions, banks, economists, welfare groups - all urging the government to take action. It's absolutely imperative that changes to negative gearing and CGT concessions are on the Economic Roundtable agenda. Winding back the tax discounts for wealthy property investors is the obvious first step in fixing our housing crisis."
"Labor has a choice - it can help fix this housing crisis by reforming the tax discounts for wealthy property investors or it can choose to continue with a system that locks out first home buyers and increases rents. It could choose to redirect funds to build more public and community housing."
"Let's be clear - these are tax breaks for wealthy property investors, which come at a cost to first home buyers and owner-occupiers. These are tax breaks that increase levels of homelessness, which advocacy groups have said is the worst in living memory - increasing by 10 percent under this Government since it was elected in 2022."
"Unless the Government makes the necessary reforms to the tax concessions for property investors, we'll continue to see house prices rise and rents spiral. The Greens stand ready to work with Labor to action this urgent reform."
As stated by Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson Senator Nick McKim:
"Negative gearing and the CGT discount is a gift to wealthy investors that's helped turn housing from a human right into a speculative asset."
"They are some of the most destructive tax concessions in the country. They drive up prices, fuel inequality, and help to shut an entire generation out of home ownership."
"Labor should listen to what the housing advocates, equality stakeholders and Greens have been saying for years, and bring reform to these unfair tax handouts for property investors into the parliament."
