Tax wedge
Now that the Coalition has resolved to wave through changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts, attention turns to how Peter Dutton will take the fight to Labor at the next election.
At a press conference in Parliament House today, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton delivered the kind of soundbite that tells you exactly where the Coalition thinks the battle over the Stage 3 tax cuts will be won and lost. Which, strangely for a day when the RBA interest rate decision and inaugural press conference took centre stage, is not on the economy.
While on the one hand confirming he would support the legislation to assist Australian families who “need help now”, he also described Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as a “liar in the Lodge” who committed an “egregious lie” by tweaking the tax cuts.
Dutton and his shadow cabinet resolved not to “stand in the way” of Labor’s tax changes today because they don’t want to open themselves up to the attack that they blocked relief for Australians on lower incomes during a cost-of-living crisis.
The Opposition Leader wants to focus on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s broken promise, not the competing tax plans. This is because of the raw arithmetic: 84% of taxpayers will be better off under Labor’s changes in 2024-25.
