澳洲是世界上极少数实施“负扣税”政策的国家;而这个政策是1985年霍克(任总理)/基廷(任财长)时逐步引入的,“负扣税”又称为“Negative Gearing”,是一种贷款投资方式。“In Australia, negative gearing often refers to borrowing to purchase a residential property investment (e.g. a house or unit), which is made available for rent. In some cases the rent received is less than the costs incurred by the landlord (mortgage interest, depreciation and other expenses), resulting in negative gearing. Borrowing to purchase shares whose dividends fall short of interest costs is another example of a negatively-geared investment.这段话的大意是:在澳洲,负扣税通常是指借贷购买用于出租的投资物业(如:独立屋或公寓房)。当租金收入少于业主的支出(包括:贷款利息、物业折旧和其它支出)时,即构成负扣税。其它的例子还有:借贷买股票,当股息收入低于借款利息时,也构成负扣税。也就是说,“负扣税”这种投资方式一般来说用在地产投资,特点就是为房租的收入不足以缴付贷款的利息,最终出现的损失,我们称为“Negative Gearing”那么既然都损失了为什么还说这种投资方式好呢?原因在于,在澳洲会给这种投资损失提供一种特殊的税务减免政策,可以用房租和贷款利息的差额抵税。其实“负扣税”还指:从金融机构(不仅限于银行)借钱在政府认可的某些行业(并非在任何领域投资亏损均构成负扣税状况)投资,当发生收入低于借贷利息时,即产生负扣税的情况。根据澳洲税务部门的有关法规,还有其它情况也构成负扣税。其中多与物业有关。