PM dances around tax changes as opposition quashes support

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has made the case for repairing a "broken" system as changes to the capital gains discount and negative gearing are all but confirmed.

The May 12 federal budget will contain major tax reform, with the government poised to pare back property tax benefits.

At a mining breakfast in Perth today, Albanese promoted resilience as the theme of the budget and said that it would include helping young people achieve home ownership.

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"Resilience is absolutely an economic imperative - for skills and energy and jobs and growth and productivity. But there is a bigger national purpose to this as well," he said.

"Building our resilience is about protecting ourselves from the economic division and social dislocation we have seen take hold in other parts of the world, where people feel like the system is broken beyond all repair."

Albanese made similar comments ahead of the speech, telling reporters yesterday that the changes were needed for social cohesion.

"Resilience in how we make more things here in Australia, how we become less vulnerable to global shocks, whether that be COVID or whether that be international conflict," he said.

"But also resilience is about social cohesion and giving people that sense of ownership over the economy, making sure that the economy works for them, not people working for an economy."

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said it was "hard to see" how the Coalition would support changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing.

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"We've got a younger generation of Australians who are giving up on the hope of owning a home, raising a family in their home, and that is moving away from the Australia I firmly believe in," he told Today.

"That means we need more houses built.

"Putting in extra tax on houses is not the way to get more houses built."

Taylor said he has yet to see any tax reform proposal and criticised the government for "running around in circles".

The federal government has repeatedly failed to confirm whether changes are coming to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing.

At the same time, it has not ruled it out either and said it was being considered along with other changes.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivers his fifth federal budget on May 12.

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