23.9% TAX/GDP CAP AS GOVT POLICY IS OLD NEWS

All SloMo has done today in announcing the 23.9 per cent tax/GDP ratio as a fiscal rule is draw attention to how many times the Government has breached its current fiscal strategy.

 

Australians aren’t interested in political accounting tricks, what they want to know is how much tax they’ll pay.

On 1 September last year Scott Morrison announced the 23.9 per cent tax/GDP cap was a “government commitment”. Old news.

 

Whenever the Treasurer talks about a tax-to-GDP cap, what he really means is small surpluses, high debt, massive cuts to services and pushing a higher tax burden onto future generations.

 

 

Over the years it’s stated:

 

“…returning the budget to sustainable surpluses that build to at least 1 per cent of GDP by 2023-24” (2013-14 MYEFO)

“…deliver budget surpluses building to at least 1 per cent of GDP by 2023-24” (2014-15 MYEFO)

“…deliver budget surpluses building to at least 1 per cent of GDP as soon as possible” (2015-16 MYEFO)

 

Now it seems the Government is on the verge of breaking another one of the key planks of its fiscal strategy – that improvements to revenue due to improved economic conditions should be “banked as an improvement to the budget bottom line” and not spent.

 

Mr Morrison confirmed last week that the Government would not be applying this rule in the context of dropping the Government’s Medicare Levy hike.

 

This Government has consistently shown that its fiscal strategy is meaningless and not worth the paper it is printed on.

 

All the while, Turnbull is making everyone pay so he can give an $80 billion handout to big business. Under Labor, middle and working families will get tax relief while big business pays their fair share.