According to David Crowe in the AFR, aspiring home-buyers have shunned the Federal government's first-home saver accounts out of concern at its complex rules. When introduced in 2007, Mr Rudd expected to attract $4 billion in savings in 400,000 accounts, but actual takeup has been only $60 million by 16,000 savers. One credit union spokesman says "the cost outlays have exceeded the take-up. The restrictions on it are very cumbersome".
Young people must surely have been put off to find that, if they invested savings in the scheme but then failed to buy a qualifying house, the money they had put in was transferred to super, and lost until they are 60!
For the treasurer, this means a windfall saving of some $800 million of anticipated expenditure not taken up by young people. So Mr Crowe suggests the government probably won't change the rules very soon.
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