Treasurer Jim Chalmers has all but ruled out taking a promise of tax cuts to the next election.
Speaking in Canberra this morning, Chalmers said while the government had delivered tax relief to all working people through its revamped stage 3 tax cuts that started from July 1, the chances of another round of tax cuts were low.
This masthead revealed this morning analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office, which shows that without a change to tax rates and thresholds, Australians will face a half-trillion increase in their personal income tax over the next decade.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers during a press conference this morning.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Without changes to the personal tax system, the proportion of federal revenue raised from individuals will steadily return to the level that prompted Paul Keating’s overhaul of the tax system in the 1980s.
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Chalmers said the budget office analysis assumed “bravely” no change to the income tax system over the coming 10 years.
But he failed to offer hope that Labor would promise tax relief as part of its election campaign.
“People shouldn’t expect us to take a big new income tax cut policy to the 2025 election,” he said.
Chalmers said the government’s priority was to deliver cost of living relief to all, bringing down inflation and keeping wage growth up.
Earlier this year, Coalition leader Peter Dutton said he would go to the election with “strong tax reforms in keeping the stage 3 tax cuts”.
Asked this morning if he would take tax cuts to the election, Dutton said his focus was on bringing inflation down, noting he wanted to see the state of the federal budget.
“We want to see the books,” he told Sky News. “Let’s see how much money is in the bank.”
