Treasurer Scott Morrison has dismissed an RBA briefing note that came to light this week that said they thought changes to negative gearing could be good for the economy.
The document was released under Freedom of Information and was from December 2014.
The document stated that discounts to capital gains tax may encourage leverage speculation, especially in combination with negative gearing and that any change which discourages negative gearing may be a good thing from a financial stability perspective.
The Treasurer says the document is old, not relevant and was not official advice.
Mr Morrison also said it came out before the APRA crackdown on banking lending standards which were effective in cooling the housing market.
The Federal Government has been under increasing pressure to make changes to negative gearing after Labor’s proposal to restrict it to newly constructed homes if they win the upcoming election.
Instead of changes to negative gearing, the Government says increasing house supply and cracking down on union corruption are the best ways to address housing affordability.
