PM to take stage three tax change pitch to regions
Andrew Brown |
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has challenged crossbencher senators to back in changes to stage three tax cuts, as he takes the sales pitch of the financial relief measures to the regions.
Mr Albanese is hopeful members of the Greens and independents will back in the stage three tax cuts when parliament resumes in February.
Under the changes, unveiled on Thursday, those earning less than $150,000 will get a greater tax cut than originally proposed.
Those earning above $150,000 will still get a tax break, although slightly less than in the cuts legislated under the former coalition government in 2019.
While the tax changes, due to kick in on July 1, will need the support of the Senate to go through, the prime minister is confident the measures will pass.
“We are putting our plan to the parliament, and we are hopeful of getting support. We will talk to people across the parliament,” he said on Sunday.
“I’ll be in regional Australia and in cities in the coming week. We’ll argue our case. It’s a good case.”
The Greens have called for greater support for lower-income earners, as well as a higher tax-free threshold.
Mr Albanese said the proposed tax changes were aimed at average-income earners, while admitting those on $155,000 or $180,000 were also part of “middle Australia”.
“There’s a whole lot of people out there who are doing it so tough at the moment that a $4500 tax cut is significant. So our choice very clearly, is to give every taxpayer a tax cut, we have done that,” he said.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has hit out at the government over the proposal, arguing $28 billion extra in tax revenue would be gained under the alterations over the next decade.
“When the government came into power, they abolished the low and middle-income tax offset, which means that people on low and middle-incomes now are paying more than they were under the coalition government,” he said.
“The most important point to make here is the prime minister has broken his trust most egregiously with the Australian people.”
The opposition has not yet determined the party’s position on whether the proposed changes would be scrapped should the coalition win the next election.
AAP
