Chalmers Flags Albanese Government Tax Changes Before 12 May Budget
Jim Chalmers has left albanese government tax changes open ahead of the 12 May budget, saying housing-market and tax-system issues are feeding deliberations on intergenerational fairness. The Treasurer would not confirm whether negative gearing or capital gains tax will change, even as pressure builds around younger Australians locked out of home ownership.
Chalmers Signals Budget Deliberations
54 per cent of men and 47 per cent of women aged 18 to 29 lived with their parents in 2024, according to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, a snapshot that has sharpened the government’s focus on housing access. Chalmers said, "There are some issues of intergenerational fairness that we’re very focused on, and one of those issues is whether or not young people can get a toehold in the housing market".
47 per cent of women and 54 per cent of men in that age bracket living at home points to the scale of the problem the Treasurer is talking about. Chalmers also said, "A lot of us are concerned about... the way that there are fewer and fewer younger people who are able to buy their own home."
Negative Gearing And CGT
Less than two weeks before the 12 May budget, Chalmers said the budget had not been finished and that some deliberations had not been concluded. He would not confirm changes to negative gearing or capital gains tax, while speculation around both has centered on possible housing-tax changes meant to address intergenerational fairness.
There has been speculation that the Labor government may change housing taxes in the budget to address intergenerational fairness, including possible changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia said in its federal budget preview that major changes to CGT appear locked in, adding a market-facing expectation to the political debate.
Revenue Delayed For Years
Chalmers said, "When we are only less than two weeks from the budget, there’s always a lot of speculation, and I think this time around we haven’t finished the budget yet," before adding, "Some of these sorts of deliberations haven’t been concluded yet." That leaves investors in housing-related assets, and households weighing the tax treatment of property gains, waiting for the final package rather than a pre-budget trial balloon.
He also told the CBA podcast that, "even if we went down the path that has been speculated about in those areas that you’ve asked me about, people shouldn’t expect there to be this huge amount of new revenue show up over the course of the next few years in the budget". CGT is a tax on the profits from selling assets, and the current concessions on those gains are expected to be reduced in the new budget, but the fiscal payoff would arrive slowly rather than all at once.
