The Australian Experience with Preferential Capital Gains Tax Treatment—Possible Lessons for Canada

Abstract

This article compares the preferential tax treatment of capital gains in Australia and in Canada, with a view to determining whether there are any lessons from the Australian experience that may be of relevance to Canada. The tax treatment of capital gains is similar in the two jurisdictions in that both apply a 50 percent inclusion rate or the equivalent. Several aspects of the taxation of capital gains in Australia might be considered cautionary from the Canadian perspective. The Australian experience indicates that winning support for an increase in the capital gains inclusion rate can prove difficult, as demonstrated by the unsuccessful proposal by the Australian Labor Party, during the 2019 federal election campaign, to effectively raise the inclusion rate to 75 percent.