Celebrity auctioneer and prominent real estate identity Tom Panos has launched a scathing online critique of Tuesday night’s federal budget, likening the economic plan to a “garage sale” and accusing the government of punishing aspiration.
“Tonight’s federal budget felt less like an economic plan…it felt like a garage sale by people who accidentally burnt the house down,” Panos declared from his Melbourne hotel room where he watched the announcements unfold.
“Aussies, they didn’t get a budget…what they got (was) a magician’s performance.”
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Panos’s strong reaction comes as the federal budget confirms significant changes to property investment, including a new capital gains tax system from July 1, 2027 that will see investors pay a minimum of 30 per cent on additional gains, and negative gearing being restricted exclusively to new builds.
Celebrity auctioneer and real estate identity Tom Panos has unleashed a scathing online critique of Tuesday night’s federal budget. Source: YouTube
These reforms aim to boost new housing supply and level the playing field for first-home buyers, but Panos believes the approach is misguided.
He elaborated on his “magician’s performance” analogy, stating, “Look over here, cost of living, blah, blah, blah…meanwhile behind the curtain…more taxes, more complexity, more pressure on people carrying the country.”
His core grievance centred on the perceived targeting of those who drive the economy, directly referencing the impact of these new measures.
“If you’ve worked hard, if you’ve taken risk, if you’ve built, invested in property, if you’ve employed people, if you’ve sacrificed for the future, congratulations, you’re the bad guy or girl,” he stated.
“The country used to reward aspiration, now it punishes it, it punishes momentum.”
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Panos dismissed the notion that the changes only affect “rich guys on boats,” asserting that the budget’s impact is far broader.
“This hits everyone if you analyse it. It hits renters, it hits small businesses, it hits the trades, it hits young couples … it hits your confidence.”
He warned of a chilling effect on the market, where “governments change the rules overnight, people stop moving and investors freeze, builders hesitate, developers delay and consumers sit there clutching their wallets.”
The real estate guru concluded his impassioned rant with a stark economic philosophy: “You cannot tax a country into prosperity. It’s impossible. You grow prosperity, you build it, you incentivise it…eventually if you keep punishing the people building houses, employing staff and taking risk, you run out of people willing to do it.”
The 2026 federal budget is expected to significantly impact Australian real estate by restricting tax perks for investors, forecasting slower price growth, and aiming to boost new housing supply.
Property price growth is forecast to slow to 3 per cent by December 2026, down from 5 per cent, but experts are already questioning the accuracy of the prediction.
While the government aims to increase supply over the long term, with $2 billion in funding targeting 65,000 new homes, the changes may temporarily increase rents as investors face higher costs or potentially exit the market.
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