Rolling the dice on tax reform? Be prepared to bet the house

Sydney Morning Herald

3 days ago

If it's true that two out of five Australians are willing to 'make a personal sacrifice to improve the nation's standing', Treasurer Jim Chalmers' intended taxation summit must address the capital tax-free status of the family home (' Voters wary of reform surprise from Albanese ', July 22). Because all other asset classes including shares, cash at bank and rental housing are all relentlessly taxed, the obvious investment choice becomes the family home, which drives prices up. Worse, because of the crippling level of mortgage repayments, it denies people the freedom to otherwise invest in productive, income-producing parts of the economy. If you want cheaper housing and more investment, the odious reality is that you probably need to tax family homes. Russell Murphy, Bayview
I am not sure what is more disappointing: an electorate seemingly suspicious of major reform or a government with such a large majority in the lower house avoiding that much-needed structural reform. This is a generational opportunity that we all need to embrace to set the country up for future generations. We need to stop pandering to Baby Boomers, those with large property portfolios and the tax-shy rich, and just get on with it. Tim Overland, Castle Hill
Alan Morris' letter was worryingly true – negative gearing and capital gains discounting are costing the government a staggering amount of revenue (Letters, July 22). And it's only set to increase unless reform is legislated from the top down. What better way for our treasurer to make a difference in the long term than to rein in tax concessions while encouraging investors to look away from residential property towards more productive areas that need capital injections for jobs and growth. Negative gearing should be encouraged on all income-producing assets except residential property, and with the fine-tuning of capital gains tax to help, more people will become homeowners as investors won't be tax-privileged and will have to compete on a level playing field with owner-occupiers. Productivity might be this government's new direction, but we need more than a 'round-table' talkfest if results are to be achieved. John Kingsmill, Fairlight
Complex? Not half
Fay Semple (Letters, July 22) asks for someone to set her straight on tax being charged on only 50 per cent of capital gains, so I will try to do so. Most forms of income – salaries, wages or business profits – typically accrue over one year and so are taxed in full at the end of that year. Capital gains usually accrue over many years, often decades. Prices generally increase a lot over that period. So if an owner sells a property or shares after holding them for many years and is then taxed on the full amount of that gain, there is no chance they would then have the funds to buy a similar property or shares. So when capital gains tax began the original purchase price was adjusted by the change (increase) in the consumer price index, so only the 'real' gain was taxed. That was later deemed too complicated so the much simpler, but much less accurate 50 per cent discount was introduced. I hope that helps explain why the 50 per cent discount exists. David Fraser, Ballina
Antisemitism antidote
Thank you, Alynn Pratt, for eloquently expressing the link between anti-Israel sentiments and perceived antisemitism at home (Letters, July 22). I am sure most Australians would denounce the ruthless actions of Israel, its prime minister and the IDF over the past 18 months. I believe the best way to discourage antisemitic activities in Australia would be for Australian Jews to unequivocally denounce the actions of the Israeli government and military, as many Israelis themselves are doing. Dale Bailey, St Leonards
If Australia's Jewish people would disassociate themselves from the worst things happening in Gaza, other Australians may indeed, as Alynn Pratt urges, disentangle Australian Jews from Israel in their minds. It must be difficult after the acts of Hamas monsters on October 7, but to acknowledge that the response should stop now would align with the decency and judiciousness of all the Jewish people I have ever known. Jennifer Briggs, Kilaben Bay
Genocide, persecution, starvation, ethnic cleansing, lebensraum – these are words and concepts that conjure up memories of horrific crimes against humanity. Are they overused tropes from the past, or valid descriptions of the dark place into which Netanyahu has led the people of Israel? His dismissal of all such claims as Hamas propaganda is a poor attempt to justify the killings. Saying 'Israel has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history' is simply untrue. Gaza has been systematically dismantled, tens of thousands of innocents have lost their lives and the daily killing of Palestinians and the occupation of their land has been normalised. Condemning these actions is not enough. The world community needs to use every means at its disposal (short of warfare) to free the Palestinian people from this despot. Furthermore, no nation should call Israel an ally while Netanyahu remains in charge. I live in hope that some day the people of Israel will rise up and make Netanyahu answerable for his crimes. Geoffrey Dyer, Bundanoon
Blooming disaster
The federal government still avoids the D-word when describing South Australia's algal bloom (' No disaster-level relief for algae bloom ', July 22). Why? The marine heatwave has lasted nine months. Beaches are buried under hundreds of tonnes of dead marine life – more than 400 species – but most of the devastation is underwater, across an area twice the size of the ACT. The International Disaster Database (EM-DAT) defines a natural disaster as 'a situation or event which overwhelms local capacity, necessitating national or international assistance, and likely to cause serious harm to safety, health, or livelihoods.' To qualify, at least one of four criteria must be met: 10 or more people killed, 100 or more people affected, a state of emergency declared, or a call for international help. Clearly, at least the second applies here. But EM-DAT's definition is too human-centric. Like our outdated nature and duty-of-care laws, it ignores the scale of harm to ecosystems. Climate change threatens all life, and the law must catch up. Whatever the International Court of Justice rules in the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change case on Wednesday, climate legal leadership is urgently needed. Ray Peck, Hawthorn (Vic)
The contribution of $14 million to clean up the disastrous algae bloom devastating the South Australian coast is equivalent to the selling price of a house in an affluent part of Sydney. Labor MP Mark Butler stated he had never seen a bloom of this scale and duration. Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt needs to reassess his decision to not declare this a natural disaster. John Cotterill, Kingsford
Why punish Boele?
Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian is aggrieved that she did not win the seat of Bradfield. She has decided to contest the result in the Court of Disputed Returns (' Libs say 151 ballots should overturn Bradfield result ', July 22). She will only do so because she has been indemnified by the Liberal Party. The fault, if there is one, lies with the Australian Electoral Office. Why then, does Kapterian feel it appropriate that Nicolette Boele (who is not alleged to have done anything wrong) should pay towards her legal costs if the decision goes against the AEO? Just another example of the Liberal Party's clearly discredited sense of entitlement. Nicolas Harrison, Evans Head
Gisele Kapterian wants the High Court to overturn her election loss. Our system allows for this. But why on earth should winner Nicolette Boele have to pay for Kapterian's challenge should Kapterian win? She didn't make the decisions on which votes were accepted. Is this another Liberal Party strategy to attack independents by threatening them financially if they don't roll over when failed Liberal candidates demand it's their right to rule? Derek Elmes, Faulconbridge
No books for boys
If boys and young men aren't reading, maybe it is because there's nothing for them to read (' Young men have stopped reading books – and these are the reasons why ', July 22). At school, we boys were given authors such as Alistair MacLean, Jules Verne, Gerard Durrell, Paul Brickhill, HG Wells, RL Stevenson, Sir Walter Scott, Joseph Conrad and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to read. Such authors have been purged from reading lists by a largely female corps of English teachers and replaced with poorly written tripe. Teenage boys aren't interested in books like Hitler's Daughter. Furthermore, given that boys find reading more difficult because (a) they have no male role models left and (b) their literacy skills develop more slowly, it should be of no surprise to anyone that they do not read. Programs like DEAR (Drop Everything And Read) are great, but dwindling. Ryszard Linkiewicz, Woolooware
Multicultural riches
Australia is by and large a fine example of a multicultural melting pot, and it is pleasing to note that we are soon to celebrate the settling of one million refugees since World War II. As pointed out in your editorial (' Australia has been enriched by refugees ', July 22), what has allowed us to live together for the most part, harmoniously and peacefully, is the prevalence of shared values, especially human values. Curious to know just what these values might be, I reached out to Siri, only to be required by a website I was assigned to verify that I was, in fact, human. This sadly set me wondering if, in the not-too-distant future, artificial intelligence may render the human values that give us meaning dispensable – and just a mere tick of a box. Mary Carde, Parrearra (Qld)
For crying out loud, we're all immigrants and refugees. This country, which we stole, has offered refuge from the partisan madness of the old world, and together we've done quite a good job in building a working model for a peaceful world – that is, a tolerant, multicultural democracy that celebrates diversity. Now, if we could just pay long-overdue respect to the original Australians we might have something to crow about. Phil Bradshaw, Naremburn
There can be no doubt that Australia has been enriched by refugees. Those who work in education can attest to the attributes that many refugees bring to a classroom, especially their gifts in speaking and understanding languages other than English. As a nation, Australia needs to understand and better utilise these gifts. One policy area for the treasurer's forthcoming growth summit, as it explores productivity, is to consider how better to utilise and harvest our immense bilingual riches. Rod Leonarder, Roseville
Croc or crock?
For Captain Hook, the tick-tocking of the clock was a forewarning of the approaching crocodile, a symbol of his fateful predicament. Soon, if not already, crocodiles will become regular visitors to the holiday town of Noosa (' Jury still out on Noosa's claimed crocodile sightings ', July 22). As for Hook, the crocodile for us is also analogous of a forewarning – time ticking away while climate change does its worst. The warming ocean currents have already ominously manifested themselves. The demise of intricate marine communities along the South Australian shores; the vast tracts of reef from NSW to Tasmania decimated by long-spined sea urchins encouraged southward in ever-warming currents; the whale migrations with truncated northern destinations, evidence of shrinking food reserves in warming southern oceans. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Steve Dillon, Thirroul
Margot Saville's claim that the Noosa crocodile is just a 'lizard' may have a grain of truth to it ('I've seen one up close, so Noosa's reptile may be a croc', July 22). In fishing parlance, a 'lizard' is a flathead, a common species in the Noosa River. Perhaps the croc is just that – a wildly overgrown flathead in the manner of Razorback, the huge wild pig that tore its way into Australian cinematic glory back in the mid-1980s. If such were true, Noosa could immediately benefit by the construction of the Big Flathead, a great addition to the local tourist industry, and of course the movie would follow – a riot of chewed-up tinnies (and fishermen). Only in Queensland. Peter Cooper-Southam, Frenchs Forest
Choice in care
Wendy Syfert talks of her 'guilt, grief and anger' at having to return to work for financial reasons (' Focus on profit demeans childcare ', July 22). She describes 'prising her crying baby from her chest each day' when leaving the five-month old in care. What was this distress about: a child's broken attachment needs (critical at six months of age), objections to the quality and consistency of care, fear of strangers, missing her mummy? Was the mother not typical of many parents who in today's society are not allowed to care for their babies and toddlers? Prime minister, it's time to put children's needs first and give families real choice about childcare. Stop subsidising for-profit centres and give mothers and fathers adequate paid parental leave. Susan Tregeagle, Yarralumla
To ensure that early childcare is safe, caring and reliable, the federal government will need to spend a huge sum of money. Another option, which I'm sure would be welcomed by many parents and children, would to pay the basic wage to the caring parent until the child is two years old. The partner would be required to allocate half their superannuation to the carer for those two years. If they do the sums, the government may come out ahead. Denise McElhone, St Ives
Research confirms the lifelong benefits of at-home parenting (Letters, July 22). Norway has modernised this traditional approach with the addition of generous taxpayer-funded paid parental leave, and their approach provides our government with a successful working model ('Treasurer in race to form agenda ahead of summit', July 22). In Norway parents are entitled to a combined total of 49 weeks of paid parental leave at 100 per cent salary replacement or a longer period at 80 per cent, which can be shared between parents. The potential long-term benefits are enormous in terms of mental health outcomes for children and the wider community. Australia could readily adopt this generous model to resolve many of the problems with the for-profit childcare sector. The program has been funded largely by Norway's high fossil fuel taxes. Maybe we can do the same here. Or maybe we can fund paid parental leave from one of the other 'hollow logs' available to the Albanese government, such as the $10 billion to $15 billion revenue lost annually to negative gearing and capital gains tax on investment properties, a major reform that might resolve two of our biggest social problems – runaway house prices and a childcare system that's been exposed as not fit for purpose. Rob Firth, Red Hill (ACT)
Fair play
With our PM purporting to be a big tennis fan, I wonder if he mentioned to Xi Jinping the inexplicable disappearance of Chinese tennis champ Peng Shuai after she accused a high-ranking Chinese official of sexual assault. Rosemary O'Brien, Ashfield