MEDIA RELEASE (AU)

CA ANZ's opening statement to the Economics Legislation Committee on Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026 and Income Tax Rates Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, delivered by CA ANZ Group Executive Advocacy, Public and Government Affairs, Damian Ogden.

Chair, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear today.

CA ANZ represents more than 140,000 financial professionals, supporting them to build value and make a difference to the businesses, organisations and communities in which they work and live.

Our members play a critical role in the economy — supporting individuals, small businesses and large organisations to understand and comply with Australia’s tax system, and to make informed decisions based on that advice.

The proposed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax regime are significant. They form part of a broader package designed to reshape incentives in the housing market and alter the way capital income is taxed in Australia.

Our focus is on ensuring that, if implemented, the law is clear, coherent and workable in a self-assessment environment, and whether taxpayers and their advisers can apply it with confidence and ease. Poorly drafted or overly complex laws increase compliance costs, create uncertainty, and risk unintended consequences.

From our perspective, more comprehensive consultation upfront would reduce the risk of technical issues and the need for later amendments.

A consistent theme in our submission is the need for legislative clarity and certainty. Key policy elements are being explained in the Explanatory Memorandum or left to future legislative determinations, rather than being clearly stated in the law itself.

In a self-assessment system, that is problematic. Taxpayers — and those advising them — need to be able to look at the legislation and understand how it applies to their circumstances.

The proposed changes introduce complexity, particularly in the CGT rules — including new classifications of gains and losses, valuation requirements at 1 July 2027, and more complex record-keeping obligations over time.

This will impose real compliance costs on Australians.

CA ANZ has three suggested changes to the proposed CGT provisions:

1. First, changing the ordering in which capital losses are to be used to preserve the grandfathering of the 50% discount.
2. Second, changing the rules that currently prevent a taxpayer from accessing indexation if they have been a non-resident at any time when they own the asset.
3. Third, allowing companies to access indexation.

CA ANZ acknowledges the concern of tech start-ups about the difficulty of indexing an asset that has a low-cost base. Tech start-ups are not the only businesses that face that situation. Increasing the thresholds for the small business capital gains tax provisions that provide a 50% discount for active business assets and reconsidering the use of an income averaging mechanism could help remediate this issue without requiring industry specific provisions.

CA ANZ’s message is straightforward. If Parliament is undertaking major tax reform, the legislation must be: clear, coherent, administratively workable, and fair in its application.

We stand ready to work constructively with the Government, Treasury and the ATO to ensure these reforms achieve their intended purpose in a way that works for taxpayers in practice.

Thank you. I am joined by my colleagues Susan Franks, Australian Tax and Financial Services Leader, and Geraldine Magarey FCA, Group Executive Policy & International and we look forward to your questions.