Labor’s housing taxes are turbocharging rents

Rents will rise by as much as 30% for Australian households over the next two years as a result of Labor’s new taxes.

None of this should come as a surprise.

More taxes were always going to reduce housing supply - by 35,000 according to the Budget.

That number was supercharged to be closer to 70,000 thanks to the unhinged SMSF borrowing ban in Labor’s deal with the Greens.

This ban wasn’t modelled, there was no regulatory impact statement. Jim Chalmers said it would affect 4,000 transactions a year, but industry data show it will impact 16,000 transactions a year.

The reduction in housing supply is now driving higher rents.

Labor said rents would go up by $2 a week. NAB data shows it will be more like $250 a week in Sydney, based on median rents.

No wonder Labor won’t supply the modelling behind the rent increase prediction in the Budget. It has already been blown out of the water. We will seek the Senate’s support to force compliance with our order.

In just four months since the Budget, we’ve seen a collapse in housing supply and higher rents.

Cutting taxes and red tape is the only way to get supply moving and rents down.

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