Taxing You for Their Mistakes: The Scam of Unrealised Gains

There is a growing push to introduce a tax on unrealised gains, taxing Australians not on money they’ve earned, but on paper increases in the value of their assets. At first glance, this might sound like a progressive tax reform. But look closer, and it becomes clear, this is not just flawed policy, it’s economic sleight of hand, designed to clean up the government’s own mess at your expense.

Inflation: The Unspoken Theft

For decades, the Australian dollar has been steadily devalued. What cost $1 in the 1990s now costs two or three times as much. That isn’t growth. That’s erosion. That’s your money buying less, year after year, because of deliberate monetary expansion, a polite way of saying the government prints more money and spends beyond its means.

That’s inflation. And inflation is not an accident. It’s policy.

The Illusion of Profit

Now let’s say you’ve owned a home, a farm, or a small business for 30 years. Its value has doubled or even tripled but only in nominal terms. Adjusted for inflation, it may have barely held its value. There’s been no windfall, no cash-out, no liquidity. You haven’t sold. You haven’t earned. You haven’t profited. You’ve simply kept pace with the slow decline of your currency’s worth.

Yet the government wants to tax that as if it were a capital gain.

The Great Economic Shell Game

This is the crux of the scam:

1. They inflate the money supply, devaluing the dollar.

2. Asset prices rise, not due to real value creation, but because it takes more dollars to buy the same thing.

3. They call that a gain, and then tax you on it,  even if you haven’t realised a cent.

They are taxing you for surviving the inflation they caused.

That’s not just unjust. It’s dishonest.

A Dangerous Precedent

An unrealised gains tax amounts to a penalty for prudence. For holding rather than flipping. For building rather than speculating. It distorts the very concept of income and undermines trust in property rights.

In effect, it tells Australians: "You’ll be taxed not when you profit, but when we say you have." And who decides when and how value is measured? The same system that couldn’t keep inflation under control to begin with.

The Real Agenda

Let’s not sugar-coat it, this is not a policy for fairness or efficiency. It is a wealth grab, a convenient way to plug budget shortfalls without admitting the real problem lies in decades of fiscal mismanagement.

It’s a betrayal of every Australian who tried to do the right thing:

~ those who held property for the long term,

~ those who saved instead of spent,

~ those who believed that hard work and patience would be rewarded.

Lets call It what it is

A tax on unrealised gains is not reform. It’s economic gaslighting.

It exploits inflation while denying its effects.
It punishes diligence and rewards volatility.
It’s theft, disguised as policy and it must be rejected.

Australians deserve a tax system based on real income, real profit, and real fairness, not one that invents gains out of thin air, just to cover up the failures of those in power.

According to inflation data, $1 in the year 2000 was equivalent in purchasing power to approximately $1.95 in 2025. This represents a cumulative price increase of 94.55% over 25 years, with an average annual inflation rate of 2.70%. In practical terms, this means that $1 today buys only about 51% of what it could in 2000.

Implications for Capital Gains Tax

This devaluation of the dollar has significant implications for capital gains taxation. If an asset's value increases over time merely to keep pace with inflation, the owner hasn't realized a true gain in purchasing power. However, capital gains tax is typically applied to the nominal increase in value, not accounting for inflation.

For example:

An asset purchased for $200,000 in 2000 and sold for $400,000 in 2025 appears to have doubled in value.

However, considering the 94.55% inflation over this period, the real value of the asset has remained relatively constant.

Despite this, the owner would be liable for capital gains tax on the $200,000 nominal increase, effectively taxing a gain that doesn't exist in real terms.

Understanding the impact of inflation on the value of money is crucial for fair taxation policies. Taxing nominal gains without adjusting for inflation can lead to individuals being taxed on illusory profits, eroding their real wealth.

 

 

Per Capita Gross Debt (2025)

As of June 2025:

Gross federal debt: ≈ $940 billion

Australian population: ≈ 26.6 million

 

 

 

 

Combined Government Debt (Federal + States)

Federal ~$940 billion
State & Territory ~$400–450 billion (est.)
Total Public Debt ~$1.35 trillion