How Will A Labor Government Effect You? | Post by Mat Crawford

The likelihood of a Labor Government after this years Federal election is increasing with every Newspoll. The Australian Labor Party has been discussing their proposed policies for the past 12 months, which could have both positive and negative results on your hip pocket. Here is a list of the main policies items which may effect your bottom line;

• Winding back excessive dividend imputation credits – this will potentially cost retirees, or those who have low incomes, thousands of dollars each year.
• Abolishing negative gearing tax deductions for all but new properties – property investors will potentially lose all the tax concession on their investment properties.
• Moderating superannuation tax concessions for balances over $1.5m – those with high super balances may pay higher tax on their earnings on balances over the cap.
• Capital Gains Tax discount halved from 50% to 25% – this will result in additional tax paid on the disposal of property (excluding primary residence), shares and other income generating assets.

There are also a couple of proposed policies which may give you some additional funds. These include;

• Restore penalty rates – more pay for working weekends
• Tax breaks for low and middle income earners – proposed to be an extra $1,300+ p.a
• Private health insurance increase cap – lower increase to help people absorb the increased costs easier
• End Medicare freeze – additional payments by government for more pharmaceuticals, medical products and services

As with any change, there will be some winners and some losers. If you would like to discuss how these proposed changes could effect you in more detail, give the team at Steve May Financial Services a call and start a conversation today.