Inquiry into pathways to housing tax reform

Centre PersonnelAlan Duncan, Gavin Wood
External PersonnelKadir Atalay, Richard Eccleston, Kathleen Flanagan, Helen Hodgson, John Minas, Rachel Ong ViforJ, Julia Verdouw, Neil Warren, Stephen Whelan
Research PartnersUniversity of New South Wales, University of Reading, RMIT University, University of Sydney, University of Tasmania
Project FundingAustralian Housing and Urban Research Institute
Project StatusComplete (June 2016 to December 2017)

Project Summary

This evidence-based policy inquiry (EPI), funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), will establish a viable, evidence-based strategy for breaking the political deadlock afflicting Australian housing tax policy. It will identify a pathway to reform that balances political imperative against technical policy objectives, by integrating practical policy analysis with economic modelling in three central elements of Australia’s housing tax regime.

Project Outputs

Pathways to housing tax reform Richard Eccleston, Julia Verdouw, Kathleen Flanagan, Neil Warren, Alan Duncan, Rachel Ong ViforJ, Stephen Whelan, Kadir Atalay Despite widespread agreement that housing tax reform would lead to better housing outcomes and improved economic efficiency, the politics and ideology around housing tax policy remain a deterrent for change. This report, funded by the Australian Housing and Urban Research... Read article Publication5 July 2018Research Reports Read More
The income tax treatment of housing assets: an assessment of proposed reform arrangements Alan Duncan, Helen Hodgson, John Minas, Rachel Ong ViforJ, Richard Seymour This report models several potential transitional arrangements that may ease the distribution pressures arising from reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax (CGT) reform, and help smooth a reform pathway that is more politically acceptable. Negative gearing and CGT... Read article Publication7 March 2018Research Reports Read More
Negative gearing reforms can save $1.7 billion, new research shows — Negative gearing reforms can work without hurting ‘mum and dad’ investors– — Existing discounts are skewed towards the more affluent – Reforming negative gearing can save the Australian Government more than $1.7 billion each year without hurting ‘mum and... Read article Media7 March 2018Media Releases Read More
Negative gearing reforms could save A$1.7 billion without hurting poorer investors Reforming negative gearing could save the federal government A$1.7 billion without hurting “mum and dad investors”, according to our new modelling, by focusing tax deductions on investors with smaller property portfolios and removing them for richer investors. Combined with changes... Read article Media7 March 2018News & Public Commentary Read More