Alan Kohler says a 1999 tax change helped kick off a house price surge
A 1999 capital gains tax discount of 50 per cent was removed 26 years later.
Alan Kohler has written his last ABC column after 31 years with the broadcaster. Kohler's column looks back at the stories he missed, especially from the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Kohler says a 50 per cent capital gains tax discount, dating from 1999, was one of them. The discount replaced indexation of capital gains.
Negative gearing, also an income tax break, made borrowing to invest in property more attractive. The incentive was especially strong after the March 2000 stock market crash put everyone off buying shares.
Kohler says the 1999 change kicked off 25 years of a nation-altering surge in house prices. Kohler also says the discount was not the only reason house prices rose.
Twenty-six years later, the discount was removed. House prices are falling, helped by rising interest rates.
- 31 years
- Years at the ABC
- 50 per cent
- Capital gains discount
- December 1995
- Joined 7.30 Report
- 26 years
- Discount removed after
Why it mattersThose tax rules shaped house prices for 25 years, and buyers and owners now face a changed market.
AustraliaAustralian house prices are falling, and the 1999 tax discount has now been removed.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 4 h ago
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