Latest news with #BillShorten
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside the Labor Party's bold push to increase taxes on property investors: 'Government now has a mandate to rectify inequity'
Labor Party activists are pushing to scrap the capital gains tax discount on investment properties, despite Anthony Albanese ruling out such changes in Opposition. Former Labor leader Bill Shorten lost the 2016 and 2019 elections with a plan to halve the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount to 25 per cent. Albanese ruled out tinkering with capital gains taxes after taking over as Labor leader and went on to win the 2022 election from Opposition and was resoundingly re-elected in May. But now a grassroots organisation within the Prime Minister's own party – Labor for Housing – wants the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount scrapped entirely, not just diluted. That means someone who made a $100,000 capital gain on their investment property they rented out would be taxed on the entire increase, not just $50,000 of it. Labor for Housing co-convener Julijana Todorovic told Daily Mail Australia the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount introduced in September 1999 needed to be dismantled for residential properties. 'We think it should be removed entirely, so not immediately,' she said/ 'Property should not be an investment for which you can claim the discount.' Ms Todorovic, a land rights lawyer, said the Albanese Government needed to scrap the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount during this term of Parliament without taking the policy to the next election. 'Our view is that the Labor government now has a mandate to rectify inequity in Australian society,' she said. 'While it's clear from the election results that we can't be too radical, we must do something to stem the flow of generational inequity.' She argued the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount should be grandfathered for existing investors as the policy is scrapped for future purchases - a position the Greens took to the May election. 'We are proposing that residential property is removed as a category for which the discount can be claimed,' Ms Todorovic said. 'But we're proposing that this change is grandfathered to a certain date – so if people have structured their finances based on the discount, then they will have time to restructure – they won't be left high and dry.' Labor for Housing argued that scrapping the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount would encourage investors to invest in technology instead of speculating on real estate, and driving up house prices. 'Australia's capital resources have become landlocked by a CGT discount on property,' it said in a submission to the government's August Economic Reform Roundtable. 'As Australia electrifies, transitions to renewables and increases our data capacity, businesses are struggling to find adequate capital. 'By incentivising investment in the productive powers of the market, the government can increase the circular flow of capital in the economy, creating jobs and additional economic activity.' The Greens went to the last election with a plan to scrap the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount for future purchases of investment properties, and grandfather it to one property for those who already owned an investment property. While Labor has a landslide majority in the House of Representatives, it needs the Greens in the Senate to get its legislation passed. The Labor-aligned McKell Institute has called for the federal government to dilute the 50 per cent capital gain tax discount to 35 per cent for existing investment houses with a backyard. This means $65,000 of a $100,000 capital gain would be taxed, up from $50,000 now. But it has also called for the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount to be increased to 70 per cent for newly-built apartments, arguing this kind of policy would boost housing supply and encourage more off-the-plan unit developments. That means only $30,000 of a $100,000 capital gain would be taxed. The McKell Institute's Harnessing Aspiration report argued the existing 50 per cent capital gains tax discount encouraged investor speculators to buy up houses. 'There is a unique incentive for investors to speculate on existing detached houses rather than non-existing off the plan attached dwellings or established attached dwellings,' he said. 'The blanket tax treatment of each of these asset types means an investor is much more attracted to high-growth existing detached dwellings than moderate-growth attached dwellings, especially new builds.' The average, full-time worker earning $102,742 a year is priced out of buying the median-priced house in every state and territory capital city except Darwin. Ms Todorovic said Labor for Housing's call to scrap the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount wasn't about stopping property speculators. 'It won't – this isn't the tool to correct speculation, this is about removing incentives which preference land above other more productive investments,' she said.
AU Financial Review
2 days ago
- Politics
- AU Financial Review
Why I changed my mind about cutting the voting age to 16
In Australia, lowering the voting age has long been the aspiration of those who would benefit from it. For years, the Greens have supported extending the franchise, and during the Bill Shorten years, Labor did too. Following British prime minister Keir Starmer's commitment to give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote, Australian independent MP Monique Ryan has pledged to introduce a private member's bill on the topic, to let young people 'have a say on those things that really matter to them'.
ABC News
01-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Remote retailers warn businesses could 'collapse' when federal Centrepay crackdown takes effect
Several Northern Territory retailers say their businesses will not survive if they are banned from using a controversial Centrelink payment system, ahead of a federal crackdown expected to take effect in coming weeks. Centrepay is a system used by more than half-a-million Australians that allows people to pay for goods and services through deductions from their social security payments. It was introduced as a way of paying essential bills like rent and power, but has expanded over time to be used in shops selling clothes, whitegoods, phones and speakers. Under changes to be rolled out by the federal government, retailers selling those "household items" are now set to be booted from the scheme, along with funeral companies and some food providers. The reforms follow a series of controversies, including two NT clothing stores being ordered to stop using the service over concerns they were putting their mostly Aboriginal customers at financial risk by signing them up to debts they did not fully understand and could not afford. The Albanese government announced sweeping changes to the service in December last year, with former minister Bill Shorten saying Centrepay had been "misfiring" and "not working as intended". "Some services being provided through Centrepay were really not appropriate for the vulnerable people on the government's systems," he said at the time. The reforms are expected to only apply to new businesses at first, with existing Centrepay-enabled businesses in categories slated for removal to be given more time to phase out their use. In Katherine, there are five clothing stores using Centrepay, which financial counsellors have previously described as a "high concentration" for a town of its size. Three of them have said their businesses will go broke without access to the scheme. Urban Rampage, a chain with stores across remote northern Australia, told a tribunal last year an Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) order to stop using Centrepay would cause its business to "collapse" and its staff to be terminated. Makalu Fashion, another Centrepay-enabled clothing retailer, has been trading on Katherine's main street for about two years. "I don't think my business can survive if Services Australia completely stops Centrepay," owner Dinesh Lamichhane said. Mr Lamichhane said while he agreed with stricter regulations, he did not want to see Centrepay taken away altogether. "There should be tighter rules," he said. "I do not hesitate to say this system really encourages the businesses to misuse the money of the Aboriginal customers." But he said Centrepay was also "really important" to his customers as a budgeting tool. "[The] majority of customers, they have the habit of not saving the money in their pocket," he said. "That's why if Centrepay exists, it is really helpful for them to buy their necessities, especially their clothing items and footwear." Mr Lamichhane said he believed retail businesses should only be able to draw down a maximum of $50 a fortnight from Centrelink, and customers should only be able to enter into a Centrepay agreement with a single retailer so they did not end up with multiple deductions. "I think Services Australia can easily do that," he said. The reforms have been cautiously welcomed by financial counsellors. Kimberley-based Bush Money Mob counsellor Allan Gray said he had no sympathy for retailers that were financially dependent on Centrepay. He said many stores were charging "massive prices to remote Aboriginal people who are living below the poverty line". "I have literally seen hundreds of remote Aboriginal people ripped off by abuse of Centrepay by greedy businesses," he said. However, Mr Gray said he was concerned shops would turn to other forms of credit, like Afterpay or direct debit systems, which could still see financially vulnerable customers ending up with big debts. He said while recent tightening of laws that govern buy-now-pay-later services meant advocates had a better chance of protecting customers, they had not removed the risk. "It feels a bit like Whac-A-Mole," he said. "I have no doubt that if someone is greedy and they're determined … [they will] find a new way to take the limited income from remote Aboriginal people, but we now have far more tools at our disposal." Vennessa Poelina, a community advocate and Nyikina traditional owner from Broome, said she had seen many remote Aboriginal people get into trouble with Centrepay debts to clothing retailers. She said shopkeepers had an obligation not to abuse the trust of Aboriginal customers from remote communities who often "don't know how to question" the payment options presented to them. "The [shopkeeper] will go 'oh look, we can take money out of your account, you don't have to pay the whole $80!," she said. "That's how I think people started to get hooked into that system of Centrepay." Mr Shorten said in December the changes to Centrepay would be "fully introduced" by July 1 this year. But Services Australia has since confirmed the plan has been delayed, with more details on the changes to be revealed "in the coming weeks". A spokesperson for the Urban Rampage chain of clothing stores said the "ongoing delay" was creating a regulatory limbo for its business. The company is challenging an ASIC order to stop using Centrepay at the Administrative Review Tribunal, in a move that could prove futile if the changes go ahead as planned. The spokesperson confirmed Urban Rampage was offering customers other payment options in the meantime, including Afterpay and direct debits.
Sydney Morning Herald
29-06-2025
- Health
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘One-size-fits-all approach doesn't work': Plan to save the NDIS billions
Billions of dollars in disability payments could be funnelled to struggling children through daycare programs under a plan to ease the financial strain of the nation's insurance scheme while ushering in a new era of early intervention. Taxpayers would save $12.1 billion over the next decade if 10 per cent of National Disability Insurance Scheme payments were set aside for people not currently on the scheme – including children needing temporary support – and the current model of individual support plans was reserved for Australians with life-long disabilities, a report says. It can take years of waiting and one-on-one specialist appointments to gain support under current NDIS procedures. Removing some of that red tape and allowing children with autism and developmental difficulties – and their parents – to receive support directly at childcare and primary schools would be more effective and cheaper, according to the Grattan Institute report. This new era of the disability scheme, known as 'foundational supports', could be funded using the existing NDIS envelope, the think tank's report says, and should be brought in over the next five years if the new-look system is to pile the least amount of pressure on federal and state budgets. Governments could save an additional $34 billion over 10 years by not needing to find extra money for the new disability system. Foundational supports were meant to roll out on Tuesday under the original deadline set by previous NDIS minister Bill Shorten. However, that start date has been pushed back to at least December as the states and federal government negotiate details. Grattan Institute disability program director Samuel Bennett said the NDIS had transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people but had grown 'too big, too fast'. 'Something needs to be done,' Bennett said. 'Time has shown a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work. What children and families really need is evidence-based early intervention – preferably available where the child already lives, learns and plays – rather than navigating this bureaucratic nightmare that is today's NDIS.'
The Age
29-06-2025
- Health
- The Age
‘One-size-fits-all approach doesn't work': Plan to save the NDIS billions
Billions of dollars in disability payments could be funnelled to struggling children through daycare programs under a plan to ease the financial strain of the nation's insurance scheme while ushering in a new era of early intervention. Taxpayers would save $12.1 billion over the next decade if 10 per cent of National Disability Insurance Scheme payments were set aside for people not currently on the scheme – including children needing temporary support – and the current model of individual support plans was reserved for Australians with life-long disabilities, a report says. It can take years of waiting and one-on-one specialist appointments to gain support under current NDIS procedures. Removing some of that red tape and allowing children with autism and developmental difficulties – and their parents – to receive support directly at childcare and primary schools would be more effective and cheaper, according to the Grattan Institute report. This new era of the disability scheme, known as 'foundational supports', could be funded using the existing NDIS envelope, the think tank's report says, and should be brought in over the next five years if the new-look system is to pile the least amount of pressure on federal and state budgets. Governments could save an additional $34 billion over 10 years by not needing to find extra money for the new disability system. Foundational supports were meant to roll out on Tuesday under the original deadline set by previous NDIS minister Bill Shorten. However, that start date has been pushed back to at least December as the states and federal government negotiate details. Grattan Institute disability program director Samuel Bennett said the NDIS had transformed the lives of tens of thousands of people but had grown 'too big, too fast'. 'Something needs to be done,' Bennett said. 'Time has shown a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't work. What children and families really need is evidence-based early intervention – preferably available where the child already lives, learns and plays – rather than navigating this bureaucratic nightmare that is today's NDIS.'
