overwhelming support to axe negative gearing, page-138

acorn at the risk of getting off this threads topic,here's some more property historics.

In the 60's/early 70's amongst the young "swingers" [20yr oldish]the spec game was in Blocks of Land. Many the going for a Sunday drive was based at looking at new housing estates.The Respectable Oldies were often checking them out for their eldest children especially daughters as well as inspecting the latest Mater Home.

See around 1970 it was usual and very common for marriage at 18 or at least by 25. There were various occupations that restricted working by married women the Qld Public Service and Nursing for example expected if not demanded that married women 'retire' so there was this financial pressure on the unmarried to at least have a Glory Box for girls and solid financial prospects for boys.
This had the decent young adults out into the property market esp Land Trading.

See in those days one could put down a deposit on a block of land,start paying it off and find say 3/6months later you got higher offers from johnny2late buyers.It all depended on the estate you bought in becoming super popular,selling out stage 1 and stage 2 going great guns at higher prices thus providing demand on the better blocks held in stage one.

Now in the 60's up to I think 72 there was no Capital Gain or any tax on your block of land reaping a windfall profit. so you didn't pay tax on the profit OR get a deduction of any interest paid on your "lay by" deal.You did your dough,no tax relief if you did a loss either.

Anyhow this basically was because you weren't in the Business of Land Transactions that you got a loss from interest paid and every one was happy with this fair enough because at these times you had to be a bit of an incompetent dill to not be able to flip a block of land in the then outer suburbs at a profit.

So then the law changed that profits on held for less than a year came in [74ish] and profit was calculated after expenses like rates and any interest.
This brought in the TAX Accounting profession and negative gearing ideas of Smart Way To Wealth for the Common Folk [hoi polloi] came in via this example of minimum deposit with the expectation of windfall/capital gains being geared.

My "knowledge" comes from my older siblings real estate activity in the 60's and my tax work in the Dept and for Accountants in the 70's and 80's.

like you acorn I come to this forum to read historical developments in generational attitudes.
Negative Gearing has had it's day,it's run on the public purse is spluttering out.
It's a Real Estate Salesman's "con" on a par with Margin Loan spivs.