00:00The Albanese government has been considering a range of reforms to Australia's tax system,
00:07and that may include looking at capital gains. So the capital gains tax discount is effectively a
00:15tax break from the John Howard government era, which has the effect of benefiting property
00:20investors when they sell their properties. Now, a government source has told the ABC that the
00:26government is looking at scaling back this 50% deduction ahead of the May budget. Both Prime
00:33Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasurer Jim Chalmers have previously spoken of a desire to look at the
00:39intergenerational fairness and its impact on young Australians, but nothing concrete is on the table
00:47as of yet. Acting, sorry, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Miles, he spoke to the ABC earlier this
00:54morning, where he did not rule out making any changes to the current system, but he said
00:59the government's strategy to address Australia's housing crisis was more focused on boosting supply.
01:05Here he is. In respect of housing policy, our position is clear, and there haven't been changes
01:13to that, including in the tax arrangements. And our strategy in terms of dealing with the
01:18intergenerational challenges, our strategy in terms of dealing with housing affordability
01:23is very much on the supply side. A Senate committee set up by the Greens is investigating potential
01:30reforms in this area. But of course, making changes to the capital gains tax discount is very contentious,
01:36Kath. Nobody likes paying more tax. Sally McManus is the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade
01:42Unions, and she says that she believes the current system is unfair. I think the government understands
01:49that there's a deep unfairness, deep unfairness where if you work full time, that is not getting
01:56you to a position where you can ever buy a house. Now, when John Howard bought in capital gains tax 26
02:03years ago, the average wage of a worker, it'd be six times more like to buy a house. Now it's nearly twice that,
02:12it's 11. Now it might be worth noting that Labor won last year's federal election with a sweeping
02:19majority. It is the Albanese government's second term, and they're up against a very divided
02:24opposition. So some are arguing that the time is now to really look at making some bold reforms.
02:31Shadow Treasurer Ted O'Brien said that the opposition has no interest in making any changes to the current
02:37system. But given that housing is such a big issue for so many Australians, any movement in this area
02:44is sure to grab attention.
