Fed: Means testing home buyers grant the way to go: Latham

AAP General News (Australia)
12-18-2003
Fed: Means testing home buyers grant the way to go: Latham

PERTH, Dec 18 AAP - A Productivity Commission proposal to prevent millionaires claiming
the first home owners grant was something Labor had long pushed for, Opposition Leader
Mark Latham said today.

The Productivity Commission today said the $7,000 grants should be means tested to
better target home buyers in greatest need.

The first home owners scheme, introduced to compensate home buyers for the impact of
the GST, has paid out $3.8 billion to about 480,000 people since July 2000 and is estimated
to cost $730 million this year.

But it has been criticised for subsidising million-dollar homes bought by high-income
earners, as well as a loophole - since closed - that allowed parents to buy homes in their
children's names.

Options put forward today by the commission include means testing the grants, capping
them to cut out at a certain property value, adjusting the amount according to household
income and indexing them to keep pace with median house prices.

"I'm glad to hear the Productivity Commission saying that because it is a long standing
Labor policy to better target first home owners grant," Mr Latham told Perth radio 6PR.

"We've said for several years that we wouldn't make it available to million dollar home owners.

"It just seems to be way out of line with the community standard where you've got to
get the money where it's needed most."

Mr Latham said if a buyer could afford a million dollar property, they did not need
a public subsidy.

"We've got to do a lot more to improve housing affordability in Australia and some
better targeting for that scheme would make a difference," he said.

AAP hn/apm/jlw

KEYWORD: HOUSING LATHAM

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