House prices skyrocket since Cabinet rejected capital gains tax reforms

Greens Treasury spokesperson, Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, is today calling on the Government to reveal the capital gains tax modelling they took to Cabinet back in February 2016 [as discovered by an ABC Freedom of Information Request].

Senator Whish-Wilson said, “The public has a right to know what Treasury found when it modelled the budget and housing affordability impact of changes to capital gains tax.

“The Government has to justify to younger Australians why it rejected changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax at a Cabinet level in February 2016 given that median house prices in Sydney have risen by $110,000 since that time.

“Every month the Government delays action on housing affordability the amount needed for a home deposit in places like Sydney and Melbourne rises by around another thousand dollars.

“I can’t recall when a Government has turned a blind eye to a larger rise in the cost of living than this.

“I will be seeking an Order for the Production of Documents for any modelling or policy briefs related to taxation and housing when the Senate returns.

“At the most recent Senate Estimates, Treasury could not even answer how many younger people in Australia are now priced out of the housing market.

“This shows how little attention the Government has paid to this issue,” he concluded.