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Members of the mortgage broking and fintech sectors have made a significant splash this week, harnessing social media to flag the negative impacts of proposed tax changes in the 2026–2027 federal budget on small-business owners and borrowers.
Industry concerns are heavily focused on the government’s move to remove the capital gains tax (CGT) discount across all assets, restrict negative gearing to new builds only, and alter discretionary trust tax structures. According to several prominent broking industry figures, these moves will severely penalise both property buyers and small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The viral catalyst
The momentum began last week following the federal budget announcement. Julian Fayad, founder and CEO of broker fintech LoanOptions.ai, posted a tongue-in-cheek social media campaign across Instagram and LinkedIn.
Using AI-generated images of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese asleep at the office and celebrating with the LoanOptions.ai team, Fayad announced the Prime Minister as a “co-founder” of the business, given that he will have to “give him 47 per cent equity”.
Fayad explained that for bootstrapped or venture-backed entrepreneurs, the ultimate pathway to financial freedom is selling their business. Under the proposed rules, they could lose up to 47 per cent of that final payout to taxes.
“The government’s CGT changes mean young Aussie founders are discouraged from building in Australia,” Fayad said. “It makes it more difficult to attract ambitious talent who are incentivised by share options, as the tax on their upside will now be double,” he said, ruining the incentive to take risks on early-stage companies.
Speaking to Broker Daily about the genesis of the idea, Fayad said: “It worked like a meme. It wasn’t at all claiming it was real – it was clearly satirical. In internet culture, if you do something stupid, you’re fair game to be meme’d.”
The campaign was quickly emulated by Frank Greeff, founder of AI assistant Kinso, following a meeting with Fayad. Together, the two original posts have reached more than 3 million people.
The viral reach caught the attention of shadow treasurer Tim Wilson MP, who reshared the post, stating: “Julian is a self-starter. He took 100 per cent of the risk starting a business. The PM shouldn’t be taking half the reward.”
Wilson added that he believes the tax policies were created “in a bubble” without consulting actual risk-taking business owners, warning they would crush the start-up ecosystem.
The Sydney roundtable
Off the back of the viral posts, Wilson invited Fayad to meet in person to discuss the issue. Fayad quickly mobilised a group of fintech entrepreneurs and brokerage leaders from the finance and property sectors to join the conversation.
“In 24 hours, I managed to put together an amazing group of people to represent the needs of business owners with diverse perspectives and backgrounds,” Fayad told Broker Daily.
“Everyone had so many different things on but made it work, because they believed the cause was worth us banding together.”
On Sunday (17 May), the first roundtable meeting was held at the Sydney head office of LoanOptions.ai. Wilson and NSW shadow minister for science and technology, Jacqui Munro, met with a high-profile delegation, including:
- Fayad, founder and CEO of fintech group LoanOptions.ai
- Sebastian Watkins, co-founder of fintech group Lendi and CEO of major brokerage Aussie
- Tom Hawley, co-founder and director of brokerage Azura Financial
- Kelly Eldridge, chief of staff at serviceability fintech Quickli
- Joseph Daoud, founder and principal at brokerage It’s Simple Finance
- Jeremy Cabral, co-founder of comparison platform Finder.com
- Mona Chiha, CEO of legtech JurisTeche
- Greeff, founder of AI assistant Kinso
- Rachael Wilde, managing director at York St Brands.
Following the meeting, mainstream news outlets, including Channel 9, descended on the venue for a doorstop interview. Attendees said that the proposed changes heavily penalise younger generations who utilise equities and digital assets as alternative wealth-building tools because traditional housing is already out of reach.
“Not one person in the room is trying to avoid tax,” Fayad commented.
“The main thing that was unanimous is that the current government has proven it cannot spend the tax revenue efficiently. The real problems in the housing market are supply-driven, not an issue of needing more taxes.”
Eldridge, representing serviceability fintech Quickli, emphasised the macro-economic stakes.
“From my perspective, this is fundamentally a conversation about productivity growth and the future of the Australian economy,” Eldridge said.
“We need long-term policy settings that encourage people to build, innovate, and take risks here in Australia... if we want a stronger economy over the next decade, we need to inspire ambitious people to create and grow businesses locally, not discourage them.”
Hawley, director of Azura Financial, added that the government had “moved the goalposts” for small businesses currently doing it tough.
“These changes sadly put a disincentive in place for business owners,” Hawley said.
“This is really an assault on high-growth investments. While I understand there are some arguments for it to apply to property, capturing the small business community in these changes is extremely concerning. People are starting to second-guess themselves about reinvesting and growing their businesses because they feel deflated and somewhat betrayed.”
Melbourne delegation steps up
On Tuesday (19 May), a second roundtable was hosted by Wilson in Melbourne, shifting the spotlight to the Victorian broking and business communities.
Daoud, founder of It’s Simple Finance, led the Victorian delegation, bringing together a cross-section of entrepreneurs spanning mortgage broking, accounting, law, and e-commerce:
- Daoud – founder & principal, It’s Simple Finance
- Damian Medici, director and mortgage broker at Margin Loans
- Natasha Etschmann, broker and financial content creator of Tash Lends/Tash Invests
- Rex Afrasiabi, real estate and mortgages lawyer from New Chapter Legal
- Jason Robinson, tax accountant and director of Future Advisory
- Selim Ahmed, managing director at SAP digital agency Bourne Digital (part of Accenture)
- Danielle Marple, founder of paralegal company Socii Book and Founder
- Cameron Soleimani, founder and director of construction clothing retail Bad Workwear
- Shaun Anthony, co-founder of horology company The Smiling Second and a doctor
- Peter Gatt, CEO and co-founder of business advisory company Emanda.
The Melbourne roundtable echoed the Sydney feedback, warning that the CGT changes would stifle business investment, reduce housing supply for first home buyers, and potentially drive talent offshore.
“I am a small fish in the pond, but being a mortgage broker who works with first home buyers, self-employed individuals, and companies on a daily basis, I can put my hand on my heart and say ‘more tax does not mean supporting small business and giving people a fair go,’” Daoud said.
“The discussions on Tuesday had many of the founders airing their frustration. We no longer hear about ‘What entity should I set up,’ we hear ‘What country should I move my business to.’”
Daoud concluded by noting that while the opposition has engaged directly with the industry’s concerns, requests to connect with the government have fallen flat.
Daoud said: “We have given both the sitting Treasurer and the Prime Minister the same opportunity, yet we’ve been met with crickets and told, ‘We’re helping small business.’”
What do you think the federal budget changes will do to small-business owners and entrepreneurship? Let us know in the comments below!
[Related: Borrowing capacity to worsen under investor tax changes, warn brokers]
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