Why I hate the capital gains tax discount.

I've never begrudged anyone making money. But I do think the way we tax it is completely broken.

I'm a nurse. 18 years full time. Every dollar I earn gets taxed at my marginal rate. Pick up an extra shift, the government takes nearly half of it.

Last year a colleague sold an investment property she'd held for just over 12 months. The profit was roughly four times my annual salary. Because she hit that threshold, she only paid tax on half the gain. Her effective rate on that money was lower than mine on a regular Thursday.

She's a good person. I'm not angry at her. I'm angry that the system taxes money made from owning things less than money made from doing things.

My kids are in their early twenties. Both working, both renting, both doing everything right. They can't get near a deposit because every time they get close the market moves again. And it keeps moving because parking money in property is still the most rational thing anyone with capital can do. The tax system makes sure of that.

The 50% CGT discount was introduced in 1999. It was supposed to simplify things. What it actually did was make speculative investment in housing more attractive than it had any right to be.