Aussie housing crisis inflamed by ’world’s most generous tax breaks’ – realestate.com.au

by Admin
August 26, 2024

A move by federal politicians has inflamed Australia’s housing crisis, cutting out millions from owning a home.

‘The world’s most generous tax breaks’ handed to property investors by federal politicians is helping cut millions from owning a home, industry warns.

A new report warns that the wealthiest Australians now hold 90 times the wealth of those with the least – fed by “the most generous tax breaks in the world” for housing investments including capital gains tax discounts and negative gearing.

The Widening the Gap report, launched Tuesday morning at Parliament House in Canberra, warns “high house prices have fuelled inequality and locked many people out of housing and financial security” – and comes as Australia’s federal politicians were estimated to own over $405m worth of real estate, far removed from the housing crisis.

Around 95 per cent of Australia’s federal politicians already own property.

Ms Chambers said Australian property investors had the “the most generous tax breaks in world” over the past two decades, making many people very rich but shutting out millions who now can’t afford to buy a basic property.

She warned that the federal experiment with housing as a wealth generator rather than a basic need had failed, and it was time to stop it from getting worse.

“We should be using our tax system to make Australia fairer. Instead, Government policies are driving inequality and making it worse. The good news is that we know what needs to be done to turn this around,” she said.

“We’re calling on them to wind back housing tax breaks that have pushed housing costs up to record highs. Capital Gains Tax discounts and negative gearing deductions are being used to build wealth for investors, instead of being used to boost social housing,” she said.

“We’re calling on them to tax income from investments fairly. People who earn income from work are paying more tax than people who earn income from their wealth. That needs to change if we want to make our tax system fairer,” said Anglicare executive director Kasy Chambers.

Federal MP Andrew Wallace is the unofficial GOAT of political property investing.

As the cost of living crisis facing average Australians worsens, greater pressure is being brought to bear on Australia’s 227 federal politicians who control all changes to tax and other structures through which thousands of people are currently profiting off housing, and significantly more struggling to get into the frenzied market.

Analysis of the Register of Members’ Interests of the 47th parliament show around 95 per cent of Australia’s federal politicians already own real estate interests, with only about 10 of the individual members or senators showing none to their name, and the top 15 owning a whopping 88 properties.

Federal Liberal MP Andrew Wallace (Fisher Qld) is the unofficial GOAT of political property investing. His declaration shows no real estate attributed to him, and two to his spouse/partner in Wurtulla, Qld and Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada – but two of his companies Wallco Property Group and QHF Properties have had extensive real estate interests.

Rachel Meyers of Ray White Bli Bli has this property listed for sale in Bli Bli looking for “best offers”.

His firm sold off this Bargara property of five units for $1,295,000 in March last year.

Wallco alone has been involved in over a dozen property deals, with the company currently declared as having two properties in Monkland and Bli Bli Qld. The Bli Bli house is currently listed for sale aimed at “best offers”. He sold off a property in Bargara last year for $1.295m, which had five individual units within it rented out.

The biggest portfolio currently on the register though is held by Liberal Nola Marino (Forrest, WA) who has eight properties spanning a massive 380-plus hectares, according to records to February – much of which is used for farming.

Nola Marino is the real GOAT in the current federal parliament when it comes to property ownership. Picture: AAP Image/Mick Tsikas.

Nola Marino’s real estate in Western Australia used primarily for farming. Picture: Google.

She’s also got some forested property.

Almost all of her real estate in Western Australia – owned with her spouse/partner – is used for production of dairy and beef, hay production and sales, breeding, racing and leasing thoroughbred horses. Property records show many have been held for decades, with just one purely residential property.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Marrickville home – listed for rent in real estate records in January at over $1,300 a week – was changed into an investment and named as rental income this year, given he is now living in the official PM’s residence.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton sold his investment property located in Brisbane CBD last year and held one residential property as his home earlier this year.

Three members have seven properties each, including Labor’s Brendan O’Connor (Gorton VIC), Labor’s Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah (Higgins VIC) and Liberal National Karen Andrews (McPherson QLD).

Mr O’Connor has properties in Niddrie, Keilor, Fitzroy, Lorne, while his spouse/partner has real estate in Euroa, Longwood and Creightons Creek.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) with Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah (right) during a site visit to Star Health Centre in Prahran. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling.

Dr Ananda-Rajah has four joint holdings with her spouse in Porepunkah, VIC, Beaumaris, TAS, Canterbury, VIC, and North Melbourne, VIC, with another Victorian property in North Carlton and two interstate investments in Brisbane, QLD.

Mrs Andrews has recently sold one of her seven properties – letting go an investment in Ayr – but brought her tally back up to seven buying another rental in Toowoomba, both in Queensland. She also co-owns investment properties in Deniliquin, NSW, Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Mudgeeraba, Palm Beach, and two in Clear Island Waters.

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Outgoing federal Braddon MP Gavin Pearce at his Burnie electorate office. Picture: Simon McGuire.

Two members have six properties each: Liberal Gavin Pearce (Braddon Tas) and Anthony Burke (Watson NSW).

Mr Pearce’s interests showed four properties in Lapoinya, one in Myalla with another under his spouse/partner in Arthur River Tas.

Mr Burke’s real estate investments are spread through Punchbowl NSW, Meander Valley TAS, Belconnen ACT, Port Phillip VIC, and in Tasmania Sorell and Huon Valley.

Labor’s Louise Miller-Frost (Boothby SA) was on six earlier, but has now dropped down to five properties after removing a Kensington Park house from her list earlier this year. No sale price is available, but she had bought it six years earlier for $1.455m. She still has real estate holdings across Cumberland Park SA, Glynde SA, Goolwa SA, McCracken SA with her spouse/partner also holding one in Crafers SA.

Tony Zappia at Pooraka Primary, where he met local voters, including first time voter Kashyap Patel in 2022. Picture Dean Martin

Seven other members also have five properties each according to declarations to February, four of whom were Labor members.

Labor’s Antonio Zappia (Makin SA) has five in South Australia – two in Pooraka, one apiece in Ingle Farm, Moana and St Kilda; Deborah O’Neill (NSW, Senate) has funds invested in property in Copacabana NSW, Stanley and Alcomie in Tasmania, Yorky’s Knob in Qld and Kingston ACT; Andrew Charlton (Parramatta NSW) has Barristers Chambers in Sydney, two in Parramatta, as well as Bellevue Hill and Woollahra; while Catryna Bilyk (Tas Senate) has a home in Griffiths ACT as well as Kingston Tasmania, plus two investment units in South Hobart and another investment in Kingston.

Three Liberals out of Queensland also show five properties each: Andrew Willcox (Dawson Qld) who has made real estate investments in Mt St John, Garbutt, Hyde Park, Currajong and Bowen; Gerard Rennick (Qld Senate) who has two in Brisbane, one in Cabarita Beach, one in Canberra and a property in Chinchilla; and Colin Boyce (Flynn Qld) whose interests lie with four in Taroom and one in Wandoan.

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