Latest news with #Pape
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Barefoot Investor Scott Pape on Labor's controversial new tax on superannuation
The Barefoot Investor has likened Treasurer Jim Chalmers to a thief targeting a bank as he takes aim at Labor's proposed unrealised gains tax on super. Pape received a letter from a reader asking about a new 15 per cent capital gains tax on superannuation balances above $3million. 'I think everyone would love your view as you speak from your heart and not your ego,' the letter to Mr Pape read. In a radical move, retirement savings will be taxed on the notional value of assets before they are sold. This would force self-managed super funds to sell assets like property or farms to avoid incurring a capital gains tax, which is now only charged on investments after they have been sold. Pape labelled Chalmers a 'smart politician' saying 'his new tax should be hung up in the Lodge toilet so that future prime ministers can pay homage to it while they're on the throne'. 'Both parties went to this election with a record amount of unfunded spending promises. Now Jim Chalmers needs to find gushes of money,' he wrote. 'So he's chosen to tax super, for the same reason bank robbers hold up banks - because that's where the money is.' Pape said there was trillions of dollars just sitting in super, waiting to be taxed, with the government's superannuation tax plan not indexed for inflation. Labor is planning to impose a new 15 per cent tax on unrealised gains above $3million and also double earnings taxes to 30 per cent over this threshold. 'Yet his real genius is that he's gone back in history and borrowed from the biggest bazooka of them all - bracket creep,' Pape said. The Barefoot Investor explained half of his readers would probably have no idea what bracket creep was. 'Bracket creep works like this: inflation pushes your income into a higher tax bracket, even if you're not actually earning more in real terms,' he said. 'No new laws. No headlines. Just billions quietly hoovered up by the tax office. 'And, by not indexing the $3million cap, Jim's effectively extended bracket creep into retirement. 'The upshot is that younger Aussies like me, who've been diligently adding to our super, may eventually get slugged.' The Barefoot Investor said he was not particularly angry at the prospect, claiming he was a 'realist'. 'And what about his plan to tax unrealised capital gains?' he said. 'Unrealised capital gains tax means paying tax on something before you've sold it. 'It's like the taxman sending you a bill just because your house went up in value, even though you haven't sold it and haven't made a dollar.' Pape labelled it an 'unflushable turd'. 'There is absolutely no way he'll get away with it. After all, I've got family members who own their farms in SMSFs (self-managed super funds),' he said. 'If the value of their farm goes up one year, do they sell off a paddock to pay tax? And in a drought when the value of the farm falls, does the ATO send them a refund?' Labor's Treasury Laws Amendment (Better Targeted Superannuation Concessions and Other Measures) Bill in 2023 last year stalled in the Senate, with independent senator David Pocock concerned about taxing unrealised gains. But the government's landslide re-election means Labor will also have more senators from July 1, which means they would only need the Greens to get legislation passed. The Greens want a $2million threshold, instead of $3million, but with indexation for inflation.
Sky News AU
21-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News AU
Barefoot Investor Scott Pape slams RBA's interest rate cut as hindering young people entering housing market
The latest interest rate cut delivered by the Reserve Bank of Australia has provoked a scathing reaction from the Barefoot Investor, who says potential homebuyers should be 'pissed off' by the move. The RBA slashed the cash rate on Tuesday from 4.1 per cent to 3.85 per cent in its second interest rate cut for mortgage holders this year. The move is expected to provide financial relief to cash-strapped Australian homeowners around the country, and the Big Four banks have confirmed they will pass along the rate cut to their customers Barefoot Investor Scott Pape has slammed the central bank's decision however, claiming although the interest rate cut will help people with their mortgage repayments, it will not be as beneficial for young people trying to get on the property ladder. Mr Pape has long been known as a finance guru since rising to fame after his best-selling and eponymous finance book 'The Barefoot Investor'. 'If I was a young person right now I would be pretty pissed off,' he told 'Every time a young person gets close, it just keeps getting more expensive.' The Barefoot Investor also warned Labor's five per cent home deposit plan announced last month will do 'a lot of damage'. The policy, set to come into force from January next year, will allow young Australians to put down a five per cent deposit to try and get a foot on the property ladder. '(The policy's) stupid, totally stupid,' Mr Pape told 'People shouldn't be buying a home in one of the most expensive cities in the world if they can't afford it.' Other industry experts also sounded the alarm over the plan shortly after it was announced, including Helia chief executive Pauline Blight-Johnston, who previously said the Labor government policy created a 'risk for lenders'. 'It is still important that the LMI industry is around to support investors and upgraders who all need access to LMI,' Ms Blight-Johnston said. RBA Governor Michele Bullock called Tuesday's announcement a "confident cut", but also said she would be looking out for economic uncertainty from the ongoing US trade war. "I think it's a confident cut in the sense that we think this is the right decision at this point in time," Ms Bullock told reporters. "Where this leads us in the future is a little more uncertain. I'd have to say probably a lot more uncertain, given everything that's going on."
Daily Mail
28-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Barefoot Investor exposes the huge cost-of-living issue both Albo and Dutton have failed to solve: 'Sardine tins sold at caviar prices'
The Barefoot Investor has compared Aussie homes to 'sardine tins sold at caviar prices' in a brutal swipe at both political parties' attempts to solve the housing crisis. Scott Pape said he spent four hours of his long weekend driving across Melbourne with his 11-year-old son who quickly noticed a key phrase on election billboards splashed around the city: ' Cost of living '. The finance guru noted his son was 'spot on' but claimed neither Labor or the Coalition were doing much to address the issue. 'The biggest cost? The roof over our heads - rent or mortgage. That's where the squeeze is,' he wrote in a column for the Herald Sun. 'Australian homes are now some of the least affordable on Earth. And to afford them we've racked up world-class debt. 'Back in the mid-2000s, the average house cost four times the average income. Now it's more than eight.' Mr Pape claimed the current housing market had 'priced ordinary Australians out of their own neighbourhoods'. With the election coming up in just five days' time, many Aussies had hoped the two major parties would battle to come up with the best solution. Yet, Mr Pape claimed both have only offered options that will put more money into the hands of pre-existing property owners. 'Labor wants to slash deposits to five per cent. Which is as dumb as it is dangerous. Remember, the US subprime crisis was created by politicians making it easier for broke people to buy homes,' he wrote. 'Not to be outdone, Dutton, the so-called economic conservative, is promising to allow first home buyers to raid their super and write off their mortgage interest. 'It's madness. Both policies are like turning up at an auction and handing everyone a suitcase full of cash. It doesn't make homes cheaper. It just lets buyers bid higher - and history shows they always do.' With both policies likely to drive house prices and rent higher, Mr Pape believed the Australian dream of homeownership was all but dead for many. 'It seems like both sides have designed their housing policies to fit on a highway billboard: Big font. Feel-good slogan. Eye-roll logic. Paid for with borrowed money,' he said. 'In doing so they've turned the great Australian dream into a financial trap.' However, there is some good news for borrowers. Macquarie Bank last week cut its one to five-year rates by 20 basis points, with borrowers now able to fix their mortgage for two or three years at 5.19 per cent. Those wanting more certainty for longer can fixed their home loan for four or five years at 5.39 per cent. Outside of eco loans, Australia's fifth biggest lender, Macquarie, now offers the lowest fixed rates. The major banks and the futures market are now expecting the Reserve Bank to cut interest rates again on May 20, before embarking on more cuts in 2025. Canstar data insights director Sally Tindall said competition in the fixed-rate mortgage space was heating up. 'Macquarie has taken the knife to its fixed rates ahead of next month's RBA meeting as it ramps up competition in the fixed mortgage market,' she said. Borrowers who fix now, however, could miss out on more relief for variable rate customers should the Reserve Bank keep on cutting interest rates.
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
1 Wall Street Analyst Says There's a Great Investment Hiding in Plain Sight. These 2 Dividend Stocks Are My Best Ideas for Investing in It.
The market is in a state of flux thanks to geopolitical issues around tariffs. There is a huge amount of uncertainty. If you have money to invest today, it is hard to decide what to do, since sticking cash under your mattress may feel like a good call in the midst of a dramatic market decline. One Wall Street pro has a different tactic. Buy shares in businesses that provide a life necessity: shelter. Here are two high-yield ways to do just that. Maura Pape, a senior investment strategist at Bernstein Private Wealth Management, recently highlighted commercial real estate as a good investment opportunity to Bloomberg. Commercial real estate is actually a pretty big category, and small investors would have a hard time investing directly in the space, anyway. But Pape did, in fact, narrow things down, singling out multifamily as a particular opportunity. "Multifamily" sounds fancy, but it just means apartment buildings. The truth is, you could probably find a small apartment building in your own neighborhood to buy. But that might pose financial and practical challenges and wouldn't afford you diversification or scale. This is why you might be better off with an apartment-focused real estate investment trust (REIT). There are two big stories here. First, shelter is a life necessity. It doesn't matter if the market is falling or if the economy has fallen into a recession. People still need a place to live, and that makes apartment REITs a fairly resilient property type. Second, there has been a drop in multifamily construction projects in recent years that should help support rental rates, and thus growth, for apartment landlords. Two well-run apartment REITs you might want to look at are AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB) and UDR (NYSE: UDR). Here's why. AvalonBay isn't the largest apartment landlord, but it is one of the best run. It has a material focus on coastal markets, where supply has been historically constrained. It also has a long history of active portfolio management as well, buying, selling, and building assets, depending on which one leads to the best returns. AvalonBay's portfolio activity is centered around ensuring that it has young and attractive apartments to offer consumers who live in regions where rents are high and/or growing rapidly. It is currently working to expand its presence in the Sunbelt region, where population growth has been strong in recent years. UDR is another large apartment landlord. It has long focused on having a diversified portfolio. It currently has exposure to both coastal markets and the Sunbelt, where it has operated for many years. However, there's another layer of diversification here, because UDR owns both A- and B-quality assets. In hard times, B-grade apartments can be attractive to tenants because they generally have lower rents. AvalonBay's dividend hasn't been increased every year, but it has generally trended higher over time. UDR's dividend has been increased annually for 16 consecutive years. Right now, AvalonBay's dividend yield is 3.6%, and UDR's is 4.2%. Both are well above the yield you'd collect from the S&P 500 today. And with multifamily construction starts down, both UDR and AvalonBay are likely to enter a stretch where they benefit from an increased ability to push through rental increases. Thus, their dividends are likely in a very strong position to be maintained or increased. When the market is in a state of flux, with the words "correction" and "bear market" making the rounds, investors often buy consumer staples stocks. The reason is that consumer staples are necessities. That same logic applies to apartment REITs like AvalonBay and UDR -- only these two REITs come with some added benefits, including high yields and a positive business backdrop for their unique property focus. Before you buy stock in UDR, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and UDR wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $502,231!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $678,552!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 800% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 156% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 14, 2025 Reuben Gregg Brewer has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends AvalonBay Communities. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. 1 Wall Street Analyst Says There's a Great Investment Hiding in Plain Sight. These 2 Dividend Stocks Are My Best Ideas for Investing in It. was originally published by The Motley Fool Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cashless fury as Royal Australian Mint refuses to answer key money question
The finance expert behind Barefoot Investor has hit out at the Royal Australian Mint for not revealing how much it costs to produce coins. Australia's march toward a cashless society prompted author Scott Pape to try and use only physical currency for a week. But he ended up facing a wall Yahoo Finance also hit while trying to find out how much the Canberra-based institution spends on making coins. Seems like a fair question considering even then-Mint chief executive Leigh Gordon said it cost more than 12 cents to make each 5-cent coin in 2022. And metal costs have since risen. Pape is a "huge fan of cash" and has backed its "cost to taxpayers to keep it in circulation", but argued a financial transparency around its production was essential for its survival. "Look, I get why they don't want people asking pesky questions about the cost of coins. After all, the Mint is basically the Blockbuster Video of the Australian Government," he said in a recent column. "The result is that not only is the Mint producing way fewer notes and coins, it's flowed on to their bag boys, Armaguard, who are broke." Controversial change coming to new Australian $5 note Australia's cross-generational money crisis exposed as woman living on $50 a week 'can't get work' Australians offered fresh $150 energy rebate from July 1: 'Hip-pocket relief' He contacted the Mint several times but after getting stonewalled, he eventually contacted its superior, Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh. 'Scott, I'm sorry the Mint wasn't able to get you the figures you were after," Leigh responded. "As you'd appreciate, the Mint makes the call themselves on issues like disclosing costs.'But Pape called for a rethink on this policy, especially in the cashless era where a lot of attention is being paid to physical money. Cash use is in decline. The RBA's 2022 Consumer Payments Survey found that just 13 per cent of transactions were made using cash, dominated by electronic payments (87 per cent). In 2010, the number of cash transactions hovered around 60 per cent, which illustrates how far digital payments have come in a relatively short time. Pape said the government owed it to Australians to remain transparent around the cost of producing cash. "I don't appreciate highly paid bureaucrats deciding they're too important to answer to the people who pay their salaries. This ain't North Korea," he wrote. Pape pointed to cautionary tale Sweden — one of the most cashless countries in the world. It has now urged citizens to have backup cash in the event of a crisis, emergency or even war. "If the Vikings are worried about a digital apocalypse, maybe it's time to stash a few pineapples under the mattress," Pape said. According to the latest figures released by Note Printing Australia in 2021-22, it cost the government $74 million to produce 234 million banknotes. This was a combination of $50 and $100 notes, suggesting that each one cost roughly 32 cents each. However, coins are a different story as they are minted with metal rather than the polymer material for notes. The Mint revealed in 2022 that it costs around 12 cents to make every single 5 cent piece. Last year, there were 10 million 5 cent coins minted, which is a sharp decline from the 49 million minted in 2022 and 36.7 million in 2021. The ABC reported that it had been far more economical to produce $1 and $2 coins as 20 cent and 50 coins were affected by fluctuating nickel prices. It only costs about 8 cents each to produce a gold coin, compared to the 14 to 28 cents for the higher denomination silver ones. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the production of coins was "under constant review" in November when questioned about the use and value of 5c coins. A poll of more than 2,300 Yahoo Finance readers found 67 per cent felt they were "still useful", while 28 per cent thought they could be scrapped. The Assistant Treasurer told Yahoo Finance the government had "no intention of abolishing the 5 cent coin". A Mint spokesperson also said there were currently 'no plans' to scrap the 5-cent coin but that the decision would ultimately rest with the government. 'There are currently no plans to end the production of any coin denominations, nor remove them from circulation,' the Mint spokesperson told Yahoo in to access your portfolio
