Thursday, 28 August 2025

Questions without notice and ministers statements

Working from home

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:01): (1029) My question is to the Treasurer. Treasurer, have you been briefed on whether proposed working-from-home arrangements could trigger a capital gains tax liability?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:02): Mr Davis, I have not sought that advice because I have not thought that to be necessary because, as I explained yesterday, in relation to working from home so many people are already doing it. So many people are successfully doing it, and there is no proposed change to the tax settings. For those that are not receiving tax implications for working from home, nothing will change under the proposed policy that we have.

David DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan) (12:02): I take it from that that there has been no briefing to the Treasurer on that matter. I ask therefore: will the Treasurer rule out data-matching arrangements between the ATO and the SRO being used by the ATO to calculate the capital gains implications for people working from home who claim the cost of their mortgage for the area of their home they are using?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:03): Mr Davis, you know that the federal government have responsibility for the ATO, not me. Capital gains is a federal government responsibility.