New polling shows support for reforming capital gains tax to deliver real change
As Australia’s housing crisis deepens and cost‑of‑living pressures continue, new Anglicare Australia polling shows that Australians want tax reform that delivers real solutions—not just tax cuts.
The Capital Gains Tax (CGT) Options Polling Brief reveals strong community support for reforming tax concessions such as the capital gains tax discount, particularly when the revenue is directed towards addressing housing affordability, income security and essential costs.
What Australians want tax reform to achieve
The polling shows broad support for a range of options, but clearer priorities emerge when people are asked how new revenue from tax reform should be used.
Australians strongly support:
- Investment in public and community housing to address housing affordability and homelessness
- Raising the tax‑free threshold, delivering structural tax relief for low‑ and middle‑income earners
- Increasing Centrelink payments to better reflect the cost of living
- Forgiving unpayable energy debt for households facing financial stress
While income tax cuts receive high support in principle, they fall behind these options when respondents are asked to prioritise. This highlights a shift in public sentiment towards long‑term, targeted solutions rather than broad tax reductions that deliver limited relief.
Why capital gains tax reform matters
Tax concessions like the CGT discount play a major role in shaping inequality and housing outcomes in Australia. Reforming these concessions presents an opportunity to raise significant revenue—revenue that Australians want invested in measures that improve financial security and reduce hardship.
The polling results challenge the assumption that tax cuts should be the default outcome of tax reform. Instead, they show strong community backing for using tax reform to address the structural drivers of housing stress, energy debt and income insecurity.
