Negative gearing is the practice of using losses on property investments to reduce taxable income. In 2013, approximately 1.3 million Australians used the concession. Data shows that high income earners write off much larger percentages of their taxes than those who earn lower wages. In 2012, surgeons wrote off $4,161 of their taxes using negative gearing while teachers wrote off $327. Proponents, including Malcolm Turnbull, argue that the practice has been part of Australian tax law since 1915 and is not a tax break since the real estate investor is taking a loss to their assets. Opponents argue that the policy disproportionately benefits Australians in high-paying occupations, not those of average incomes, since they are much more likely to own investment properties.
Statistics are shown for this demographic
Response rates from 1.9k Liberal Democrats voters.
28% Yes |
72% No |
23% Yes |
63% No |
3% Yes, the government will save over $4 billion per year in lost taxes |
9% No, but limit to one house per person |
2% Yes, this concession disproportionately benefits the rich |
Trend of support over time for each answer from 1.9k Liberal Democrats voters.
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Trend of how important this issue is for 1.9k Liberal Democrats voters.
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Unique answers from Liberal Democrats voters whose views went beyond the provided options.
@4TC4JQ64yrs4Y
Houses should be communally owned and used for human consumption and not profit
@B2JR3RV2mos2MO
No, negative gearing needs to be progressive. After a certain income level, the option of negative gearing needs to be removed.
@9K8TZN21yr1Y
No, but implement a rate of diminishing returns to allow new beneficiaries into the market but limit and existing investors and place a hard cap (of 10 for example).
@8ZRGZXZ3yrs3Y
No it shouldn’t be banned, but it needs to be regulated
@9G37XJT1yr1Y
The Government should provide compensation for house owners that are struggling to make payments to counter-act negative gearing.
@8TW6KVY4yrs4Y
Put a ceiling on how much any person can cumulatively claim through negative gearing eg $50k
@8THSFT74yrs4Y
No but a flat tax rate would even the playing field. This is a misleading topic. Negative gearing a house is the same thing as salary sacrifice to super. Most people using negative gearing are not rich most a blue colar workers like fire fighters and teachers.
@8QV3DRN4yrs4Y
Yes but also abolish capital gains tax
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