Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected claims that Labor’s budget changes would drive up rents by 30 per cent.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor asked the prime minister to guarantee that rents would not rise, saying “the National Australia Bank has confirmed Labor’s toxic taxes will send rents soaring by 30 per cent”.
It followed comments from the bank’s head of Australian economics, Gareth Spence, who told The Australian: “For investment properties in Sydney and Melbourne, a rise in the rental yield of one percentage point from about 3.5 per cent to around 4.5 per cent implies an increase in rents of 25 to 30 per cent, assuming the current level of house prices is unchanged”.
Albanese said NAB had clarified the comment today.
“To quote the National Australia Bank, ‘This was not a forecast, and it’s important to note that we do not forecast rental bills’. The budget made no changes for people who are already negatively geared,” Albanese said.
“Negative gearing and the 50 per cent capital-gains tax discount can still be used for investment properties, but on new builds, so that when people are investing, they’re not only investing in their future wealth and assets, they’re investing in the future wealth and assets of the nation, and that is already making a difference.”