The Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) has dialled the wambulance in relation to Labor’s negative gearing and capital gains tax (CGT) policy, demanding it come clean about its plans:
The Real Estate Institute of Australia has shot out at the Labor Party and its leader over the claims that there will be no changes to the party’s policy on negative gearing and capital gains tax until after the election.
For the REIA’s president, Adrian Kelly, this is not acceptable.
“All Australians need to know what and when a Labor government, if elected, will do regarding property taxation,” Mr Kelly said.
“It is not acceptable to appear to be ‘having a couple of bob each way’ in the lead up to the election.”
Under Labor’s negative gearing and CGT polities, the REIA indicated mum-and-dad investors, home owners, builders and tradies and state governments and constituents would all be negatively impacted by the changes…
“Let’s look at all property taxes in a holistic approach and not just negative gearing and capital gains tax as if that’s the panacea to housing affordability,” Mr Kelly said.
“There is already enough market uncertainty particularly in the larger states and a “nothing to see here” approach will only exacerbate this uncertainty.
“The ALP needs to come clean with what its election policies actually are so that all Australians … know exactly what they will be voting for and can make an informed decision at the ballot box.”
What uncertainty is the REIA referring to? Labor took its negative gearing and CGT policy to the 2016 federal election. It is taking exactly the same policy to this election. This policy has been publicly aired for nearly four years.
You’d be hard pressed to name another policy platform that has been in the public domain for as long.
The property lobby needs to face up to the truth: the electorate is on the cusp of granting Labor a stomping electoral mandate to implement its signature negative gearing and CGT reforms. And when it does, it must accept the outcome.
