Comedian Dave Hughes has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of benefiting from generous property tax breaks before moving to abolish them.
‘Albo got even luckier than I thought he did,’ Hughes said.
Hughes said Albanese used negative gearing and the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount to build wealth through a string of investment properties, before selling them and then backing changes to the tax concessions.
In the May Budget, the Albanese Government moved to restrict negative gearing to new build properties and scrap the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount – the same tax concessions Hughes claims Albanese personally benefited from before the changes were introduced.
In recent years, Albanese has sold several investment properties for substantial profits and has openly acknowledged benefiting from negative gearing.
He sold a Dulwich Hill townhouse in late 2024 for about $1.75 million, around $575,000 more than he paid for it in 2015.
Earlier, he and former wife Carmel Tebbutt sold a Marrickville rental property for $2.35 million, almost double its purchase price.
He also sold a Canberra apartment in 2022 for about four times what he originally paid.
Comedian Dave Hughes has accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of benefiting from generous property tax breaks before moving to abolish them
Albanese still owns homes in Marrickville and on the NSW Central Coast, both of which are held as residences rather than investment properties.
Hughes claimed the Prime Minister had timed his property sales perfectly, cashing out after benefiting from generous tax concessions and before his government moved to abolish them.
‘He sells his four investment properties, they’ve got all the negative gearing advantages and sold them at a tidy profit.
‘They got the full capital gains tax discount, so that’s fantastic for Albo – all before the position changed, so that was just incredibly lucky for the man.’
Hughes claimed that after cashing out of his investment properties, Albanese avoided investments that could be affected by the proposed tax changes and instead put his money into a family home, which is exempt from capital gains tax.
The house Hughes was referring to is Albanese’s $4.3 million coastal property in Copacabana on the NSW Central Coast, which is expected to be exempt from capital gains tax because it will become his primary residence.
‘Someone else pointed out that your primary residence has no capital gains tax at all, so, oh my god, how lucky did our selfless leader for the battlers get?’
Anthony Albanese has benefitted from tax concessions he is moving to abolish
Hughes argued that luxury homes are less exposed to broader housing market downturns than ordinary investment properties.
‘I know I’ve been saying that all property is going to go down.
‘It already has, but experts say the only segment of the market that won’t be too affected is the luxury housing segment, because no one’s really buying those properties as investments or anything.’
He claimed Albanese sold his investment properties before the policy changes took effect and then moved his money into an asset that would not be affected by them.
‘He sold his four investment properties to battlers, and then they’ve all gone down in value because the position [on capital gains taxes and negative gearing] changed, and he put all his money into the only investment that doesn’t attract capital gains tax – his primary residence.
‘It’s not even affected by these changes at all.’
Hughes also took aim at Albanese’s entitlement to the older parliamentary pension scheme, arguing taxpayers would ultimately fund it.
‘And all the extra tax that comes from everyone else will help fund his lifetime pension.’
Hughes sarcastically referred to Albanese as the chosen one.
‘We’re so lucky – he’s so selfless.’
