Politics Now Did Labor's 'reform budget' deliver?
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May 12, 2026 A deep dive into sweeping housing tax reforms, from tightened negative gearing to capital gains taxed above inflation. Discussion of who pays and who benefits after trust and offset changes. Analysis of the budget's revenue boost and inflation, plus the political risks of reversing past promises and timing big reform.
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Housing Tax Overhaul Aims To Shift Investment To New Builds
- Labor's housing tax reforms are large and designed to redirect investor demand toward new builds to boost supply.
- Changes include limiting negative gearing to new builds from July 2027 and replacing the 50% CGT discount with an inflation-adjusted approach that taxes the real gain.
Reforms Deliver Big Revenue Lift For Budget
- The tax reforms materially improve the budget bottom line with an estimated $77 billion over 10 years.
- Melissa Clarke emphasises this is a large revenue lift that underpins the fiscal framing of the budget.
Capital Gains Tax Shift Focuses On Real Returns
- The CGT change returns to taxing gains above inflation so investors are taxed on 'real' increases rather than nominal growth.
- Melissa Clarke explains this mirrors pre-1999 rules and will reduce supercharged returns that favoured long-term detached-house investors.