THE Tax Commissioner has sounded the alarm on negative gearing and warns he will crack down on landlords after they claimed $21.7 billion in tax deductions last financial year.
The nation’s 1.5 million landlords raised their deduction claims on rental properties by 15 per cent last year, despite the housing boom ending two years earlier. They earned just $17.6 billion in rent – leaving $4.1 billion in tax-deductible losses. This negative gearing gap has grown six-fold in four years, from $670 million.
Negative gearing is expected to save property investors more than $2 billion in tax this year – a bill that must be met by other taxpayers.
The Tax Commissioner, Michael D’Ascenzo, told the Herald he was concerned with the explosion in deductions claimed for interest payments, maintenance and depreciation on rental properties. But it was too early to say whether it could be explained by rampant rorting, he said….link to Full Story
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