Bricks and mortar over brains
Hockey, who ran the treasury from 2013 to 2015, argued that Labor’s changes have flipped the economy on its head. Instead of driving money into job-creating businesses, the new laws actually give investors a bigger incentive to dump their cash into property.
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“If I have $500,000, I’ve got more of an incentive to put that money into a house in Glebe or Pakenham than into shares or your business,” Hockey said.
While the Albanese government claims the reforms will help 75,000 first-home buyers get a foot in the door over the next decade, Hockey says the heavy-handed taxes will strangle Aussie innovation just as the artificial intelligence revolution kicks off.
Grim 15% unemployment warning
The former treasurer painted a dark picture of the near future, warning that AI could decimate traditional jobs in accounting, law, and medicine.
Hockey doubled down on his recent National Press Club prediction, warning that Australia could see unemployment skyrocket to 15 per cent as early as 2030.
If that happens, Hockey warns, a cash-strapped government will stop taxing incomes and start hunting for your assets.
“Governments will start talking about putting taxes on the family home, about death taxes, about new taxes on your assets,” he warned.
The only way out, according to Hockey, is to back local entrepreneurs. “The best way we can address this is having some kid in Geelong come up with a great idea that changes the world. You’re not going to get that if you tax them at 50 per cent.”
