Australia Capital Gains Tax Reform Risks Startups, PC Chief Says

Australia’s plan to scrap a capital gains tax discount risks “unintended consequences” for the startup sector, even as the budget delivered a credible package of productivity reforms, said Danielle Wood, chair of the Productivity Commission.

The center-left government on Tuesday announced plans to end a 50% capital gains tax discount in favor of cost-base indexation. It will also restrict negative gearing — which allows people to claim expenses on rental properties including interest paid on mortgage as deductions — to newly built homes as part of efforts to address intergenerational inequality in the housing market.