COMMENT: Loss ring-fencing ups war on renters & owners

Mike Butler

The largely unreported end of the ability of rental property owners to claim losses against other income shows that the Government is unaware of the scale of the problem it is creating with accommodation.

The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2019–20, GST Offshore Supplier Registration, and Remedial Matters) Bill quietly became law while we were distracted with a Cabinet reshuffle that demoted Housing Minister Phil Twyford.

Under the vague subheading: “Allocation of deductions for excess residential land expenditure”, the omnibus tax Act:

(a) limits a person’s deductions for expenditure incurred in relation to residential land to income derived from the land;