Exclusive: Former PM says changes to tax rates are ‘so marginal that no entrepreneurial initiative is likely to be thwarted
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/may/27/labor-budget-australia-economy-cgt-capital-gains-tax-changes-paul-keating-reponse
15 Comments
He’s right, but the Murdoch media will never let the truth get in the way of their agenda.
The last thing we need is carve outs which will inevitably be exploited to avoid tax. The tax system needs to be made more simple, not more complex.
Deductions (like negative gearing) should be periodically reassessed to see if they’re actually producing economic benefit to the country at large (i.e. does it increase growth, employment, etc), and does that actually improve the net position of the government balance sheet, then it needs to be reduced or removed. Historical carve outs need similar periodic reassessments, and if the carve out has existed for a set period of time (and was done for political purposes), they need to be phased out.
The majority of Australians benefit from having a simpler tax system. Largely because most of us can’t spend tens or hundreds of thousands on tax preparation.
And he’s right. Stick to your guns, Albo.
The main issue is the politicians spent a quarter of a century (CGT discount introduced in 1999) climbing the ladder before they decided to pull it up behind them.
He was right about China 10 years ago, he’s right about this aswell.
Exactly right. Worst thing they could do is spend political capital, expose themselves to endless scare campaigns, and then water their reforms down to the point that they’re useless. They need to stick to their guns and see this through.
It time for Labor to finally do something to make housing affordable.
Reduce wealth inequality, and make the money grabbing investor psychopaths, who’s top obsession in life is exploiting and rigging the tax system, suffer.
PK knows his shit
I keep saying it, but why do rich people think they’re entitled to a discount? A discount that means that they pay less tax on income made by capital gains, than what the rest of us pay on equivalent income we get by **working**?
The end of the capital gains tax discount means the start of a fairer Australia, and I am all for it.
Lachlan Harris is the skeeziest fuckwit on the planet.
This man is one of the few that I actually respect and even trust as he absolutely called a spade a spade
Time to be strong albo and ignore the hysterical systematic self-indulgent media and social media campaign.
well good that Paul made his stance clear. was a bit vague last time by only mentioning property
Yeah, lets listen to the guy that drove the economy into the ground lol
Just expand the ESIC program. CGT is NOT a factor in a startup choosing to operate in Australia. Most will leave for investment anyway. Make it easier to invest in Startups and more will stay even with CGT being increased by 6%.
I say that as a startup founder lol