Australians are ready to make a monumental change to the property market, calling for the slashing of investor tax perks and redirecting money into social housing, new research reveals.
Cutting investor tax concessions and building social housing is no longer a controversial or divided political issue, with more Australians now backing these changes in a bid to counter housing affordability.
A new analysis conducted for The Australia Institute and Everybody’s Home in March found the majority of Australians voters were aligned when it came to reducing tax breaks for property investors.
The polling by YouGov of more than 1500 Australians revealed that one in two supported reducing tax concessions, including negative gearing and the CGT discount, while just over one quarter were opposed.
Australians who were once divided have come together to agree on the solution of how to help make housing more affordable. Picture: Supplied
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Support for reducing property tax breaks was not limited to one demographic or political party.
Cutting tax breaks outweighed opposition across the political spectrum and included voters for the Coalition, Labor, One Nation, Greens, Independents and others.
Similarly it appealed to a variety of ages too, debunking the sentiment only younger people locked out of the market wanted reform.
Across the age brackets, 60 per cent of 25-34 year olds agreed with reducing tax concessions for property investors, while 57 per cent in the age bracket 35-49 agreed and 48 per cent of over 65s were for the changes.
Additionally, more than half of respondents said building public and community housing was where they wanted to see governments prioritise housing spending.
Everybody’s Home polling charts on cutting investor tax breaks. Picture: Supplied
Everybody’s Home polling charts based on age groups. Picture: Supplied
How CGT and Negative Gearing affect the market
Further research by Everybody’s Home suggested reducing these powerful incentives that fuel investor demand and drive up property prices would help more Australians be able to make their first step into the property market.
It also placed pressure on Australia’s rental market.
Since the early 1990s, the number of property investors benefiting from negative gearing has more than doubled, reaching 1.1 million, according to Everybody’s Home From Profit to Loss report.
Loss-making investors are incentivised by tax deductions to sustain their investment, rather than depending on maintaining the property and keeping the tenants satisfied.
These investors in a tighter financial position drive rent increases and have a reduced willingness to maintain properties or address tenant issues, according to Everybody’s Home analysis.
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Polling revealed Australians want public funding to be pooled into building more affordable homes. Picture: Supplied
Chance to change
Everybody’s Home spokeswoman Maiy Azize said this federal budget is the government’s chance to deliver the housing solutions that Australians are crying out for.
“This housing crisis has been hurting Australians for years. Rents, property prices, interest rates and investor tax breaks keep soaring while affordable homes get harder to find,” Ms Azize said.
“These tax breaks have fuelled a landlord boom with more than one million now reaping the benefits, yet housing affordability has never been worse.
Everybody’s Home spokeswoman Maiy Azize. Picture: Supplied
“Australians overwhelmingly want the federal government to wind back investor tax concessions because they know they’re unfair and deepening the housing crisis,” she added.
Australians were in agreement the billions of dollars that investors benefited from every year would be better off spent on solutions which ease the housing crisis.
“Of all the ways the federal government could spend its billions on housing every year, Australians want to see more public and community housing built. These are low-cost rentals that people can actually afford,” Ms Azize said.
“Winding back investor tax breaks and spending more on social housing isn’t a partisan issue.
“Voters across the political spectrum, from Labor and the Greens to the Coalition and One Nation, are saying the same thing: the housing system is failing and the government needs to fix it.”
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