Angus Taylor had an inflation rebate tax proposal. Peter Dutton said no.
Taylor’s dismissed tax plan underscores deepening internal Liberal tensions over how to rebuild the party’s low-tax reputation after its election defeat.
Angus Taylor proposed an automatic tax rebate tied to high inflation months before the election campaign, but the plan was rejected by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s office in favour of a cut to fuel excise.
The then-shadow treasurer repeatedly pushed for the policy — which would have delivered a tax rebate when inflation rose above 3% — including in the lead-up to Dutton’s budget reply speech on 27 March.
Senior Liberal sources told Capital Brief the proposal, which Taylor began developing as early as last year, was knocked back. Instead, Dutton opted for a more immediate cost-of-living measure: halving the fuel excise for 12 months. Taylor's policy never made it to the shadow expenditure review committee or shadow cabinet.
Under Taylor’s proposal, which has not been revealed until now, all taxpayers would have received a rebate at the end of the financial year if inflation rose above the Reserve Bank’s 2–3% target range. The rebate would have covered the difference between the actual inflation rate and 3% — effectively promising voters that if the government mismanaged the economy, they wouldn't be hit by the additional bracket creep.
