It's a tax rort, always has been

Yeah well, duh.. who would of thought?..

We all know tax on investment property gains, and even more, the tax breaks (negative gearing) are a rort, always have been.

Middle class subsidies is all they are.. a really excellent way of transferring wealth from the lower classes to the higher classes, through straight-forward 'rentier action'.

And that chicken has really come home to roost in the last couple of years with property prices (and rents) rising at 20+% per year.. Which will probably lock the current generation of 20 somethings out of the housing market forever..

It's not rocket science.. income tax, the clue is in the name, should be charged on all earnings which are 'business or income related' (and owning investment property is a business, with the primary aim being to make money).. The same goes for investment earnings for the retired, it's still income generated in the financial marketplace, tax it thus..

Australians have two choices - either get the tax system reformed to be progressive and yield more, or accept that all services, including medical, will get privatised (ala the USA) and you'll pay for everything 'out of pocket', or via insurance..

buggered if I know 😛