The push by influential charity organisation the Brotherhood of St Laurence to remove the capital gains tax exemption on family homes worth more than $1.1m "would not just be a tax on the rich", investment expert Monique Sasson Wakelin told yourmortgage.com.au.

"It would reach deep into middle Australia. There are 134 suburbs in Australia with a median price of $1 million or more. In the last two months, we have seen apartments sell for $1 million in typical Australian suburbs like Erskineville, NSW and Bentleigh, Victoria demonstrating the reach of this proposed tax."

Tony Nicholson, executive director of the Brotherhood of St Laurence, said that the extra revenue could be spent on public housing and rent assistance. Wakelin was not convinced. "[This] will just inject more complexity into our tax system," she said. "Mindless 'soak the rich' measures will achieve nothing. And there is no guarantee that the additional tax revenue will be applied to housing for the needy."

The Rudd government has frequently denied it plans to introduce CGT on expensive owner-occupied homes.

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