‘Unconvinced’: Jim Chalmers warns on impact of negative gearing reform on home supply

As the political stoush over negative gearing intensifies, Jim Chalmers backed in Anthony Albanese’s scepticism over winding back the tax concession for property investors.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers shares Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s scepticism about an overhaul of negative gearing. Picture: Martin Ollman / NewsWire

Jim Chalmers has backed in ­Anthony Albanese’s scepticism over whether clamping down on negative gearing tax concessions for property investors would boost housing supply, declaring he and the Prime Minister were “unconvinced”.

After nearly a week of speculation over whether Labor would take changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount to the federal election, which is due by May, the Treasurer indicated Treasury hadn’t finished its modelling.

Dr Chalmers has repeatedly refused to explicitly confirm he asked Treasury for analysis on changes to negative gearing, but he told ABC radio on Monday: “When there’s a contentious issue in the public domain and we’ve got a severe shortage of housing, of course treasurers get advice from their department on these sorts of issues. That’s what’s ­happened here.

“Sometimes it’s sought by me. Sometimes it’s provided in the course of things like the tax expenditure statement that we release every year … This is not an unusual thing. This is a treasurer doing his job.

“I’ve made it clear on a number of occasions now in the course of the best part of a week that I got this advice because it was a contentious issue, it was in the public domain and it was a big part of the parliamentary debate as well.”

He played down the prospect of increasing the housing stock by tinkering with negative gearing.

“Supply is our primary consideration,” Dr Chalmers said.

“That’s what has motivated the $32bn worth of initiatives that we have announced. One of the reasons why the changes that you’re asking me about are not part of our policy, and as the Prime Minister said last week, is that he is ­unconvinced and we are unconvinced of the impact on supply.

“So, overwhelmingly, building more homes for Australians to make it easier for people to find somewhere to rent or buy is our north star here.”

Through negative gearing, Australians can deduct the loss they make on owning an investment property against their personal income. There is no limit on how many negatively geared properties an investor can hold.

Opposition treasury spokesman Angus Taylor accused Dr Chalmers of searching for a tax grab as government receipts fell.

“The Treasurer is looking for any which way of getting his taxation receipts up,” Mr Taylor told Sky News.