Today Show host Sarah Abo has questioned whether Anthony Albanese can be trusted after his Federal Budget broke a series of key election promises.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced on Tuesday that negative gearing will be wound back to only include new builds, breaking Laborβs repeated election promise to avoid changes to tax settings that allow landlords to reduce their tax bills.
Abo asked the Prime Minister why he hadnβt taken the changes to an election.
βWhy have you chosen to lie to Australians instead of letting them vote on it?β she asked, before asking whether his government planned to introduce a death tax.
A death tax is applied to the total value of a deceased personβs estate, which includes property, money and inheritance, before itβs passed on to heirs.
Albanese said he would not introduce the tax. But Abo continued, asking: βBut things change, donβt they, as you and the Treasurer have repeatedly said.β
βNo. These are the positions that weβre put in, Sarah,β the prime minister replied.
Abo hit back: βBut youβve also said that things change, so how can we believe you?β
Today Show host Sarah Abo (pictured) questioned whether Australians can believe Anthony Albanese when he says he wonβt introduce a death tax after the Federal Budget shock
Albanese insisted the Labor government would not introduce a death tax
βWe have put forward these changes. Weβre being upfront about that,β Albanese said.
Negative gearing allows owners of investment properties to claim back their costs such as interest on loans, maintenance and rates.
Under Laborβs changes, only those with existing negatively geared properties or who build new homes on vacant land will be entitled to claim their expenses.
When asked by Sky News on Wednesday if he had negatively geared any of his properties, Albanese said: βOh, look, I have in the past, absolutely.β
βBut all my things are declared in the normal way. Iβm subject to all of that, but in a transparent way, like everyone else.β
Albanese did not clarify whether his current investment property was negatively geared, but he did recently declare rental income.
The prime minister currently owns a $4.3million clifftop home in Copacabana, on the NSW Central Coast, and a property in Marrickville, in Sydneyβs inner-west.
He recently sold an apartment in Canberra and a home in Dulwich Hill in Sydney.
How do you feel about politicians making big tax changes after winning your vote with different promises?
Whatβs your view?
AlbaneseΒ currently owns a $4.3million clifftop home (above) in Copacabana
At least 15 cabinet ministers own investment properties and 10 have declared rental income, meaning they will remain eligible for negative gearing.
Albanese was asked whether it was fair that those parliamentarians would continue to receive the concession while future property investors were locked out.
βThey operate in exactly the same way. In what way is there a differentiation?β he said.
Shadow treasurer Tim Wilson lashed out at the major tax changes, after Labor promised not to change CGT and negative gearing at last yearβs federal election.
βThe Treasurer has been caught out, basically lying to the Australian community with the Prime Minister,β Wilson told Sky News.
βAustralians are angry, and more importantly, thereβs been a clear record of broken trust and itβs not even going to deliver the claimed benefits that they say.β
