2016-04-04
The Greens will phase out the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount to ease pressure on Australia’s unaffordable housing market, generating savings of $119.5 billion over ten years.
The concession would be reduced by 10 per cent every year for five years and would run parallel with the Greens plan to phase out negative gearing.
Greens Co-Deputy Leader and Housing spokesperson Senator for WA Scott Ludlam said the fully costed plan would apply to all forms of capital gains including housing, art and investments.
“This is because tax on other forms of income, such as weekly earnings and interest on savings, receives no such discount, so we can't see any justification for any part of capital gains to be tax-free," he said.
The Greens plan would generate just over $7 billion by 2018-19, and $119.5 billion over the next ten years.
Compared to Labor’s tax reform plan to reduce the CGT discount from 50 per cent to 25 per cent and limit negative gearing to newly constructed properties (costed at a saving of $565 million over forward estimates and $32.1 billion over 10 years), the Greens plan would generate an additional $6.46 billion over forward estimates and $87.4 billion over the next ten years.
The Greens' Capital Gains Tax phase-out initiative can be viewed here.