The article fails to acknowledge the "living away from home allowance" also affects locals as well.

Eg. workers living in one state and working in another state will no longer be able to claim this.

Quote:

http://smh.domain.com.au/real-estate-new....
July 21, 2012

THE bottom is falling out of the executive rentals market because of changes to the Living Away From Home Allowance taking effect from October 1.

From that date, most overseas executives or their companies will no longer be eligible for lucrative tax breaks that encourage them to spend up big on Sydney accommodation.

Thousands of foreign workers who have been living lavish lifestyles by the beach or harbour subsidised by the federal government are having to dramatically downsize, with disastrous consequences for landlords.

Sean Urquhart, a partner in the accountancy firm Nexia Australia, believes the upper end of rental housing markets in Sydney, Melbourne and to a lesser extent Brisbane are set to take a bath.
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''A lot of the premium properties were absorbed on concessional taxes and allowances,'' he said. ''There won't be those people renting those places.''

The Assistant Treasurer, Bill Shorten, said in November the concessions were being ''widely exploited''...

Quote:

He says that without the tax breaks, which effectively meant the government was often paying half the rent, companies will not be offering accommodation as part of salary packages.

Quote:

The chief executive of the Irish Chamber of Commerce, Barry Corr, said he had been inundated with inquiries from executives - lawyers, accountants, engineers and IT workers - who will now have to pay for their accommodation.

''They are about to see a substantial change in their disposable income and it's highly likely that people will have to downsize … they may have to forgo those sea views.''..