The people most likely to have negatively geared properties

Top earners are among the most likely to have at least one negatively geared property, with more than one in five surgeons and anaesthetists being negatively geared investors, opening up debate about the distribution of benefits from tax concessions.

Nurses and accountants comprise the largest number of people with negatively geared investment properties according to data from the Australian Taxation Office for the 2021-22 period.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has not ruled out changes to negative gearing.Credit: Chris Hopkins

This masthead revealed on Wednesday that the Albanese government has asked Treasury for expert advice on possible changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax concessions.

While the Liberals have warned changes would hit “mum and dad investors”, the Greens have demanded a phasing out of both practices, which they say amount to billions of dollars in lost tax revenue with the benefits flowing to wealthy property investors.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has repeatedly been asked about negative gearing reform this week, has refused to rule out any changes.

School principals, IT managers and mining engineers are also among the occupations most likely to be claiming a loss on their investment property, with more than 15 per cent reporting they had at least one negatively geared property.

However, six out of the top 10 occupations by average taxable income are also among the top 10 most likely to own at least one negatively geared investment property.

ATO data shows surgeons and anaesthetists were the top two earning professions in the 2021-22 period, with internal medicine specialists and psychiatrists also among the top 10 occupations by average taxable income.

The data underscores the debate about the distribution of benefits from tax concessions. Analysis from The Australia Institute shows the richest 10 per cent get more than half of the benefits of the capital gains discount and tax rental deductions.

However, the Property Council has argued that lower-paid and essential workers are among the primary beneficiaries of negative gearing when looking at the total number of taxpayers who are negatively geared by occupation.

The tax office data shows there were 27,639 registered nurses, 14,946 secondary school teachers and 13,556 infant or primary school teachers who had at least one negatively geared investment property in 2021-22.

Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor on Friday said the current policy settings meant mum and dad investors could be landlords.

“[Our vision] is that we have mum and dad investors, a plumber, a chippy, a nurse, a teacher, who owns a house and rents it out to other Australians,” he said. “We don’t want to replace the mum and dad investor with the big corporate, big investment fund who’s the landlord of the house that Australians rent.”

Both major parties have made housing a key issue in the lead up to the next federal election.

Independent senator David Pocock said on Friday that if negative gearing changes were introduced, the extra government cash could be used to fund supply, saying there is a “sensible middle path to reform,” which would include grandfathering existing arrangements, and limiting negative gearing to one property going forward.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.