Every year two simple policies shelter Australia’s wealthiest people from paying an estimated $11.7 billion in taxes: negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.

Spent some money on your extensive portfolio of rental properties? Negative gearing allows you to deduct the loss from your taxable income. Sold one of your apartment blocks? Capital gains tax discount reduces the bill by 50 percent. No need to stash your money in Panama. Cha-ching!

In February, Scott Morrison told the National Press Club: “The vast majority of Australians who use negative gearing are modest income earning Australians, nurses, teachers, police … Two-thirds of those who use negative gearing have a taxable income of $80,000 or less”.

This is dishonest. Firstly, the whole point of negative gearing is to reduce an investor’s taxable income. The whole point is to make rich people appear income poor.

Secondly, the people that get the most out of negative gearing are not hard-working nurses putting a bit away. They are surgeons, lawyers and engineers. While some working class people benefit from it, the top 10 percent of income earners receive half of the total financial benefit.

Turnbull and Morrison talk endlessly about reducing the budget deficit. They tell us we need cuts to health, that people need to work longer before retirement etc. But the money is there for the taking – it’s just that it’s in the pockets of the Liberals’ rich mates.