Treasurer Jim Chalmers Slams Opposition's Tax Policy, Claiming It Would Blow a Quarter-Trillion Dollar Hole in the Budget In a heated exchange, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has launched a scathing attack on the opposition's proposed policy to index tax brackets, warning it would cost the budget a staggering $250 billion over the next ten years. The Labor government claims the policy would allow taxpayers to keep more of their hard-earned money by preventing bracket creep, but Chalmers argues it would actually result in a massive blowout in government spending. Meanwhile, Energy Minister Angus Taylor has fired back, accusing Labor of "betraying" its own principles by failing to properly fund the policy. As the debate continues, one thing is clear: the fate of the budget hangs in the balance, and the opposition's tax plan is at the center of the storm.
Follow the day’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastJim Chalmers says the opposition’s policy to index tax brackets would cost the budget a quarter of a trillion dollars over ten years, while claiming that the government is returning bracket creep to taxpayers.It’s a slightly tricky position, as Angus Taylor argues that Labor is “betraying” itself because the high figure is actually how much the government is keeping and spending through bracket creep ever year.This is a Government that returns bracket creep when it is responsible to do that.That [policy] would cost tens of billions of dollars in extra debt interest, because he’s got these uncosted, unfunded, tax announcements that he [Taylor] made in his Budget reply, which was all about trying to stave off One Nation.”“This betrays the fact that the government plans to raise income tax rates to the tune of $35 billion This says more about their plan than our plan ...If Labor’s saying that they plan to raise income taxes to the tune of $250 billion in the next 10 years ... [if] that is their tax hike, that’s their planned income tax increases.” Continue reading...
