May 27, 2026 – 4.00pmThe central goal of Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ tax changes is simple: raise the tax on capital gains from shares, property and businesses to align them more closely with income tax. It’s Labor’s bid for “generational reform”, aimed at levelling the playing field between capital and labour, asset-rich older generations and younger wage earners locked out of the housing market.Labor underestimated the backlash, however, as entrepreneurs flooded social media, mocking the PM for becoming a “47 per cent shareholder” in their businesses. Most of these memes miss the mark. The tax excludes small businesses turning over less than $2 million – which covers 92 per cent of small businesses in Australia – and the 47 per cent top rate (including Medicare) kicks in only on capital gains above $190,000.Subscribe to gift this articleGift 5 articles to anyone you choose each month when you subscribe.Subscribe nowAlready a subscriber? Luke KinsellaReporterLuke Kinsella is a journalist based in The Australian Financial Review’s Sydney office. He was previously a policy analyst at Treasury.Fetching latest articles