Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

they will increase rents and they will undermine the value of all residential housing. They will reduce home values and undermine the value of the largest single asset class in Australia, which overwhelmingly represents, for most Australian families, their largest asset. The economic consequences of that are very negative. It is called the wealth effect. When people feel their wealth is diminishing, they are much less likely to spend—they save rather than spend—and they are much less likely to invest. If this were not enough, at a time when we want to have more investment and at a time when the government is today introducing into the House legislation to provide real tax incentives for people to invest in start-up companies and capital gains tax exemptions, what does Labor do? It increases capital gains tax on every asset by 50 per cent. It increases capital gains tax with the absolutely certain consequence that there will be less investment. There will be lower house prices, higher rents and less investment.

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

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