Everyone deserves a secure future through affordable housing

Just 1% of investors own 25% of investment properties – and some have amassed up to 20 properties – because the current tax system rewards it.

Meanwhile, house prices have gone up by more than twice the rate of wages over the last 25 years – fuelled, in part, by tax incentives like negative gearing and capital gains tax.

This is not the fault of working people who have managed to purchase an investment property to try and get ahead. It is the tax system that has incentivised the richest taxpayers to invest in housing, over and over again.

Our current system is working directly against the interests of working people and younger Australians, creating a cycle of intergenerational wealth inequality.

We cannot continue down the same path of giving investors tax supports while ‘owning your own home’ gets further out of reach for workers and becomes nearly unimaginable for young workers.

It’s time to change the tax rules by limiting negative gearing and capital gains discounts to one investment property.

Housing is a human right

The lack of affordable housing in Australia is undermining living standards and quality of life for working people, especially young people.

Young people should be able to have the same aspirations as the generations that have come before them – but the reality is that working people can no longer afford to live near their work and young people are being locked out of the housing market and into high rents.

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus on Insiders

How we start to fix housing affordability

Limiting negative gearing and capital gains discounts to one investment property, alongside increasing supply, will make a big difference.

People who have made these investments should also be given some time to adjust, with all current housing tax arrangements grandfathered for five years.

Additionally, affordable housing could be supercharged by unlocking superannuation funds to invest in residential property and by backing in fast and cheaper modular housing.

We can’t improve living standards without addressing housing affordability: this is about making sure everyone has access to a secure future.