‘Strap in’: Mortgage brokers brace for slowing property market

Mortgage brokers have joined a growing chorus of small and big businesses in opposing Labor’s changes to the capital gains tax, saying the federal budget will curtail their ability to grow and tax them even more if they are forced to sell. In the federal budget, the government abolished negative gearing for future purchases of established investment properties, arguing that the tax concession had driven up property prices and locked out first home buyers. Those who buy off-the-plan or new build homes can continue to use negative gearing.