Cabinet ministers rule out changes to negative gearing

Senior ministers are making fresh vows on negative gearing amid reports of a push to change the tax benefit within Labor.

Senior government ministers are ruling out changes to negative gearing amid reports of a push within Labor to reform the tax benefit.

Labor MPs have been pushing for changes to negative gearing after Anthony Albanese’s purchase of a $4.3m property sparked backlash, The Australian reported.

But Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on Thursday dismissed suggestions that anything had changed, saying “no doors have been opened” on the divisive issue.

“We’re not doing negative gearing,” he told Sky News.

“That’s been made manifestly clear and none of that has changed.”

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says the government’s position has not shifted on negative gearing. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Negative gearing allows property owners to offset losses on rental properties in their tax returns.

Housing experts say it is a major barrier for Australians trying to buy a home, with data suggesting it overwhelmingly benefits property investors with several properties.

The Treasury has modelled changes to negative gearing, but these have been brushed off as standard modelling.

Mr Marles said the Albanese government was working on a “whole lot of policies in the space of housing”, but it was somewhat hamstrung by the Coalition and the Greens.

“We’d like to do more,” Mr Marles said.

“I mean, we have the Help to Buy legislation in the parliament which really would have made a difference. That was opposed by the Coalition, by the Greens.”

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says the Greens and the Coalition are throwing up ‘roadblocks’ to affordable housing. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek also ruled out any shifts on negative gearing.

Asked if the government was looking at changing its position, she replied: “No.”

“We’ve got $32bn worth of housing policies,” she told Sky News.

“We’ve already announced the first 14,000 out of the Housing Australia Future Fund to be built.

“That could have happened a lot sooner if the Liberals and Nationals hadn’t voted against it and the Greens hadn’t delayed it for a year.”

She said it was “bizarre” the Greens were voting against the government’s shared equity scheme stalled in the senate when it was a policy the minor party had put forward.

“In every way, we are in there doing our best to get more Australians into a home of their own,” Ms Plibersek said.

“And all we’ve had from the Greens, from the Liberals, from the Nationals are roadblocks.”