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Relief for property industry after CGT abandoned

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 18 Apr 2019, 7:27AM
Photo / NZ Herald

Relief for property industry after CGT abandoned

Author
Newstalk ZB,
Publish Date
Thu, 18 Apr 2019, 7:27AM

A real estate website says the capital gains tax was always a dead duck.

Yesterday the Government categorically rejected the Tax Working Group's recommendation to adopt a capital gains tax.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there was no mandate and no consensus in Cabinet after much debate and discussion.

Ashley Church from OneRoof.co.nz told Mike Yardley there's been a strong culture of property investment in New Zealand, going back to the late 70s and early 80s.

He says Kiwis see that as their opportunity to create a retirement nest egg for themselves and the CGT was an attack on the fundamentals of that.

"The tax would've also reduced the number of rental properties on the market, meaning if there were fewer rental properties available, the state would've had to provide that housing. The unintended consequences of this tax would've been disastrous."

Asked if he expected to see a bounce-back in the housing market because of this, Church said there wouldn't be a huge impact unless the tax actually was implemented. 

"There's not a lot of activity going on at the moment, but if the tax did go through, property investors would have abandoned the market and people who may have been thinking of becoming investors would have stayed away."

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