Rich investors get lion's share of $29 billion franking credits

By Tom Allard
Updated May 5 2015 - 12:10pm, first published April 21 2015 - 9:35pm
Loophole: The richest 20 per cent of households get $8.3 billion in franking credits while the poorest 20 per cent of households receive just $164 million. Photo: Fairfax
Loophole: The richest 20 per cent of households get $8.3 billion in franking credits while the poorest 20 per cent of households receive just $164 million. Photo: Fairfax

Australia's $29 billion system of franking credits for investors is skewed heavily to the rich and is ripping a hole in the budget, a new analysis has found, with one tax break found nowhere else in the world costing almost $5 billion a year.