SLOMO’S TAX DECEIT AND DODGINESS

Scott Morrison has today doubled down in refusing to reveal crucial information on the Government’s tax policies, refusing to detail the year-on-year impacts of the Government’s income tax cuts despite most changes occurring outside the forward estimates, while hiding the details of a net $3 billion tax hike alluded to in the Budget papers.

 

It’s very reasonable for the Australian people and the Parliament to receive year-on-year financial information on the impacts of the income tax cut plan over the next decade, because much of the $140 billion impact occurs during Stages 2 and 3 which occur outside the forward estimates.

 

It’s simply not viable for Scott Morrison to argue these numbers are “unreliable” if he expects the Parliament to pass the entire package.

 

In the absence of official Government figures, independent analysis by the Grattan Institute shows that once the income tax package is fully implemented in 2028, $15 billion of the annual $25 billion cost of the plan “will result from collecting less tax from the top 20% of income earners”.

 

Labor has successfully moved for the legislation to be referred to a Senate Economics Legislation Committee to properly explore the distributional and financial impacts of the package with Treasury and key stakeholders and economists.

 

Meanwhile, media reports expose concerns over Scott Morrison’s secret proposals for a net tax increase of about $3 billion in the ‘Decisions taken but not yet announced’ as suggested in the Budget [Budget Paper 2, page 6].

 

Not only is Scott Morrison refusing to be upfront on the year-on-year impacts of its $140 billion income tax package, but it’s failing to give any details on a secret $3 billion net take hike plan buried in the Budget papers.

 

Mr Morrison also continues to use a dodgy ‘cumulative tax relief’ comparison to suggest tax relief for low, middle and high income earners is broadly comparable.

 

Most distributional analysis is done within year because it encapsulates the entire tax system at a point in time. 

 

If the Turnbull Government wants to be judged on the fairness of its "package", the government should provide the distributional analysis in the year the full package is in place.

 

Mr Morrison was called out by the Grattan Institute on this on Friday:

 

DANIELLE WOOD, GRATTAN INSTITUTE: I think it's a bit strange to talk about a cumulative impact and apply that to income in a single year though, so I think those figures from the Treasurer are actually a bit misleading.