SMH · Shane Wright · Wednesday 22 April 2026
Rolling back Howard's 1999 capital gains discount might nudge landlord behaviour, but it won't solve a housing crisis built over 30 years of planning, migration and construction failures.
Howard halved the capital gains tax in 1999 and landlords went through the roof like pigeons off a fired shotgun. Now the whisper is to switch it back and watch the housing crisis evaporate. Mate, a tax lever isn't a magic wand — you can't un-stuff three decades of zoning cowardice, migration maths, and tradie shortages with one line in the budget. Menzies built houses. This mob builds tax working groups.