Treasury analysis released by the government shows the average tax rate on capital gains is projected to rise only modestly from 19.3% to 21.4% over the next 10 years.
Officials frame the shift as a calibration rather than a crackdown and position it as targeting distortions rather than broad based tax hikes.
Under the new settings, local individual investors face a minimum 30% tax rate on real, inflation adjusted gains instead of the long standing 50% discount.
Treasury stresses that key groups retain sizeable concessions, including small businesses with annual revenue under $2 million, superannuation funds and foreign investors.
Those features are designed to reassure sectors that rely heavily on capital gains incentives.
Officials also highlight that the heaviest changes fall on higher return, higher growth investments held by individuals.
The Treasury paper pushes back on claims the budget effectively “axes” the 50% discount without offering a fair replacement.
It argues the current discount system overrewards high growth assets while effectively short changing investments with lower nominal returns.
Shifting to inflation indexation is presented as a way to even out those distortions and support projects that currently do not stack up after tax.
Treasury contends that more balanced treatment of real gains can bring forward viable investment without scaring off genuinely high return activity.
