1 day Ago By Paul Sakkal, James Massola
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is preparing to announce a major new policy to allow some first homebuyers to deduct interest payments from their taxable income. Several Coalition sources, speaking anonymously ahead of Dutton’s formal announcement, said the pitch to new homebuyers would relate only to first-home buyers purchasing newly built homes. Peter Dutton on the campaign trail yesterday.
Credit: James Brickwood The bold new pledge to people locked out of the housing market will counter Labor’s pledge to allow most first home buyers to enter the housing market with a 5 per cent deposit. The two centrepiece election promises reflect the importance of the housing market to the election and will be made at the major parties’ duelling campaign launches, with Anthony Albanese in Perth and Dutton in western Sydney . The Coalition’s policy would mean a family on an average income would be around $11,000 a year better off, or $55,000 over five years, according to a Coalition source.
It would be limited to five years and only applicable to the first $650,000 of a mortgage. It would be available for singles earning up to $175,000 annually and couples earning $250,000. Opposition housing spokesman Michael Sukkar and his colleagues explored the prospect of a bigger mortgage deduction scheme earlier in the term.
Examples of the policy exist in the US, but the Coalition decided against the plan because of the exorbitant cost. As Dutton’s polling numbers have slid , the opposition has decided to reach for expensive and bold policies that were not locked in at the start of the campaign. These include the $1200 cost of living tax offset to be announced by Dutton today, and the mortgage announcement.
Both parties are likely to face questions about whether their policies will drive up demand and house prices. Housing Minister Clare O’Neil said on ABC’s Insiders that Labor’s pledge would not have a significant impact on prices, but she did not deny it would have some effect. Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis.
Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter ..
