2026 Federal Budget - CGT Discount Replaced, Negative Gearing Curtailed, and Discretionary Trusts Hit with Minimum Tax

Late on Budget night Toby Eggleston, Ryan Leslie and Nick Heggart discuss Treasurer Chalmers’ budget, focused on reshaping personal tax, especially capital gains and discretionary trusts, under “intergenerational equity.”

Corporate measures are smaller, including re-announced non-resident CGT changes with intended retrospectivity to 2006 and limited transitional relief for renewables to 30 June 2030, expanded VCLP/ESVCLP investment caps, and R&D offset tweaks forecast to reduce tax by $1.5b. Small business changes include making the instant asset write-off permanent, a refundable loss offset for startups from 1 July 2028, and a permanent loss carry-back for companies under $1b turnover.

Major personal reforms include phasing out the 50% CGT discount from 1 July 2027 (replaced by cost-base indexation and a 30% minimum CGT tax), taxing pre-CGT assets, limiting negative gearing for post-budget residential purchases (except new builds), and imposing a 30% minimum tax on discretionary trusts from 1 July 2028 with complex impacts, especially for “bucket companies,” plus proposed restructuring rollovers amid stamp duty issues.

00:10 Budget Night Kick-off

00:41 Corporate Tax Overview

01:53 Non-Resident CGT Reboot

03:14 Venture Capital and R&D

05:16 Small Business Reliefs

06:20 Loss Carry-back Returns

08:44 Big Shift to Personal Tax

08:47 CGT Discount Ends

10:52 Tech and Startup Fallout

15:01 Negative Gearing Overhaul

16:51 Discretionary Trusts Seismic

21:37 Late Night Wrap Up