BOTH the State and Federal Governments have been slammed for increasing property taxes at a time of a housing crisis in Australia.
Queensland’s richest property investor and President of Property Club, Kevin Young, said governments would be wise to learn from former Prime Minister and Treasurer Paul Keating’s major mistake when he introduced negative gearing.
“When negative gearing was abolished by Keating in 1985, it was quietly brought back in the 1987 budget after a huge surge in rents throughout Australia,” My Young said.
“If the Federal Government did a policy backflip and reinstated tax depreciation benefits removed by the previous Federal Liberal Government then it would allow hundreds of thousands of cheaper rentals to flood into the rental market.
“Similarly in Queensland the government needs to reverse its policy of increasing taxes on property investors.
“If the Queensland Government slashed stamp duty by half for property investors over the next year it would supercharge the supply of rental homes everywhere.”
Mr Young said that until the State and Federal Government stopped gouging property owners, with taxes there would continue to be a rental crisis.
“Instead of more taxes on property owners, we need less!
“It is a disgrace that property owners in Queensland paid over $6 billion in stamp duty last financial year – a jump of 52 per cent or $2 billion compared to the previous financial year. No wonder we have a housing crisis!
“Excessive taxation on property investors is killing off the goose that lays the golden egg of more rental properties.
“It is mum and dad property investors who provide the vast majority of rental properties in Queensland and we should be encouraging them to own more by cutting taxes for the purchase of investment properties.
“A 50 per cent cut in stamp duty for properties in Queensland would draw property investors from throughout Australia.
“The Queensland Government’s recent backflip on imposing stamp duties on interstate investors underlines that they understand that excessive taxation on property owners is counter productive.
“The Federal Government could help alleviate the rental crisis by restoring depreciation for second hand properties.
“This disastrous decision resulted in a sharp reduction in the purchases of these type of properties by investors,” he said.
