Brutal moment Jim Chalmers is scolded by David Koch for refusing to rule out a major tax change on the family home: ‘Weasel words’
- Treasurer refuses to exclude capital gains tax family home
- Jim Chalmers got grilled by Sunrise snake David Koch
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has refused to rule out introducing a capital gains tax on the family home under repeated questions on breakfast TV
Sunrise presenter David Koch had repeatedly asked Dr Chalmers to quash the idea when the treasurer prompted the media to sell a broken election promise about retirement.
“Don’t think about it?” That’s a weasel word,’ he said.
In an anguished interview, Dr. Chalmers failed to completely rule out a capital gains tax on someone’s primary residence.
‘Not on purpose. I’m trying to be fair to your viewers,” the treasurer told the Seven Network.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has refused to rule out introducing a capital gains tax on the family home under repeated questions on breakfast TV
Koch was furious.
“Can you say yes that you absolutely guarantee that nothing will ever change about the capital gains tax exemption on our family home? Can you say yes?’
Dr. Chalmers again refused to rule it out.
“I can tell your viewers we’re not focused on it, it’s not something we’ve thought about,” he said.
Australians have been exempt from paying capital gains tax at their primary residence, or family home, since Bob Hawke’s Labor government introduced it on September 20, 1985.
That means capital gains tax is only paid on investment properties, which are usually bought to be rented out to pay off a mortgage, with losses claimed on tax.
The coalition government of former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard introduced a 50 percent capital gains tax credit in September 1999.
Labor lost the 2019 election when former opposition leader Bill Shorten campaigned to cut the capital gains tax credit in half to 25 percent.
His Labor successor Anthony Albanese ruled out a capital gains tax cut in half when abolishing negative gearing tax breaks for future purchases of investment properties.
But Mr Albanese, as prime minister, is now accused of breaching an election promise after ruling out changes to the pension on May 2, 2022 – just three weeks before he won the election as opposition leader.
“We’ve said we’re not going to make super changes,” he said.
“One of the things we’re doing in this campaign is we’re making all of our policies clear, we’re making them visible to everyone.”
But the Prime Minister announced on Tuesday that Australia’s wealthiest 0.5 per cent of individuals would see their super-contribution tax rate double to 30 per cent, an increase of 15 per cent from 1 July 2025.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced on Tuesday that the wealthiest 0.5 per cent of Australians would see their super-contribution tax rate double to 30 per cent, a 15 per cent increase from 1 July 2025
Mr Albanese stressed that the favorable 15 per cent tax rate would continue to apply to the 99.5 per cent of Australians with less than $3 million in retirement savings.
One of Koch’s seven colleagues – Canberra-based political editor Mark Riley – suggested Tuesday’s announcement to save the budget $2 billion a year amounted to a broken election promise about retirement when he led a media conference in Canberra.
“You didn’t intend to change it, you didn’t intend to make big changes,” Riley said.
“What absolute commitment can you give to the 99.5 per cent of Australians who will not be affected by this change, that you will not mess with their boss?”
Mr Albanese suggested that the 80,000 Australians who will pay more tax on their super were particularly wealthy.
The Prime Minister pointed to figures showing 17 Australians had more than $100 million in their retirement savings accounts – including one mystery person who had more than $400 million in super.
