SteelRedux: Without negative gearing rents would sky rocket!!
For most small personal investors who build flats/houses for renting, negative gearing is the main draw card. Without it the rental returns, at the current rates, wouldn't be worth the risk. So if it was abolished the current housing stock available for renting would diminish causing rents to go up- the rental supply would diminish to a new level where the new rents received are again worth it for the risk involved.

Also, "We have often the same class of people who run multiple Air B&B properties as businesses renting to a monied class for sometimes thousands of dollars per night.".
What the hell is wrong with this?? These properties are PRIVATE PERSONAL assets-- it's the owner's RIGHT to do whatever they want with THEIR OWN ASSETS.

If you really want to increase the housing stock- then make investing in renting more attractive for people (like me) who have the money to build new buildings.
The best way to do this is to 1) create an environment that increases returns but doesn't put pressure on the rents, such as tax advantages and 2) reduce the risk- such as changing legislation so that the landlords have more control over who they can rent to (ie:slacken the discrimination laws), and change the laws to make it easier to evict people if they aren't reliable tenants or if they don't look after the property properly or they cause nuisance to others (ie. others = neighbours and landlords)
3) reduce the costs involved- eg: discounts on rates for rented properties, reduce the minimum standards for the properties, simplify the laws (there is so much law surrounding renting that the many investors use professional managing services instead of running the risk of falling afoul of the law- this is a red tape cost that shouldn't be there)

Steelreflux the amateur economist rides again.

According to SR, having the taxman clip the ticket even more will reduce rents. Genius.

Rents like everything else is based on supply and demand. When in Sydney there was a massive building boom about 5 years ago the rental supply increased and rentals dropped. Now that rental properties are less available, rental prices are shooting up.

Negative gearing encourages people to invest in property which supplies most of the rental properties. It is clear to anyone with a brain that preventing negative gearing discourages property investment and boosts rental costs.

The brain dead Labour party in NZ has pretty much implemented Labor's policy with the result that rental vacancies are drying up and rent prices are climbing which hurts the least wealthy the most.

It looks as though the only way to curb this insanity is to reintroduce provisional tax just for landlords unless people push for either a Flat tax or transaction tax !
Exploitation is not business & it needs to be stopped !

Indy,

The wife and I have two investment units in Sydney, we own them outright. Them along with other investments prevent us from getting the Aged Pension, and other lurks and perks enjoyed by old folk such as yourself. We both paid taxes all our life, just like some others, but now you want us to pay even more tax.

BTW; I'm no Good Samaritan, but during Covid the wife gave the students in one unit who couldn't work, 3 months free rent. Plus she charged them $20/week less that what the agent recommended.

p/s Eventually most of what we own will end up with the kids to do as they like with.

We both paid taxes all our life, just like some others, but now you want us to pay even more tax.
Paul1405,
Negative gearing is merely commercial welfare & those people in the investment game made the fullest of full uses of it=pay as little tax as possible !
Do the figures correctly & it'll transpire that investors & landlords etc enjoyed many more lucrative & generous perks than any wage earner pensioner could ever dream of.
I have yet to learn of wage earners being able to claim dinners, fuel write-offs, car lease write-offs, the list is very, very long indeed !
Why do you think it's people in the business sector who are vehemently opposing the Flat tax or transaction Tax that most wage earners support ?
Btw. how much were you able to claim back for giving the student a rent break ?

Indyvidual: While watching people around you get wealthy during all the decades of your working life, why didn't you ever decide to be like them and become wealthy yourself? Why did you decide that your retirement plan was the simply the aged pension and to turn into someone who seemingly envies and despises those who retired financially independent? Why didn't you take advantage of the some of the methods they used, which you obviously were aware of since you're constantly telling us about what you've witnessed over your life, to create wealth for yourself?