Australian property obsession becomes election battleground
Tax law on negative gearing poised to be key issue for voters in election tipped for early July
Sydney
AUSTRALIANS' obsession with property has moved from dominating conversations by the barbecue to potentially helping decide its next government.
A popular tax law that gives a break to landlords is poised to be a key issue for voters in an election tipped for early July. The measure, known as negative gearing, has helped stoke a surge in property prices. The flip side: rising unaffordability - which the opposition Labor Party is trying to capitalise on with a pledge to curb the tax break.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, whose popularity is sliding, has spied an opportunity. He is betting that Australians - among the most privately indebted people in the world - will recoil from any threat to their home's value. The leader, who owns a portfolio of investment properties himself, has berated Labor's policy as a "reckless" threat to most families' biggest asset, and one that could savage the entire housing mark…
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