The Income Tax Treatment of Housing Assets: An Assessment of Proposed Reform Arrangements

Abstract

This research models several politically acceptable pathways to reform negative gearing and CGT so as to reduce impacts on less sophisticated property investors. Two reform models— a rental deduction cap of $5,000 and a progressive rental deduction based on income—could lead to savings of over $1.7 billion each. Both are progressive in nature, reducing tax savings from negative gearing as tax assessable income increases.