New analysis reveals rural and regional communities will get the least from the Stage 3 income tax cuts, with experts warning the package will widen economic inequality between the city and the bush and reduce revenue for essential rural health, education and community programs.
5 of the bottom 10 ‘biggest losers’ from the Stage 3 tax cuts by federal electorate are currently National Party-held seats. 4 out of the bottom 10 electorates are located in Tasmania.
With low- and middle-income earners much more likely to live in the bush and the regions, the lion’s share of benefits from the quarter of a trillion-dollar Stage 3 package will flow to high-income inner-city electorates.
Key Points:
- Of the 20 electorates that get the least benefit from Stage 3, 12 or 60% per cent are rural seats
- 5/10 of the electorates who get the least are National Party seats
- 4/10 of the electorates who get least from Stage 3 are in Tasmania
- Some seats which receive the least from Stage 3 include Lyons, Braddon, Bass, Spence, Maranoa, Hinkler, Fraklin, Lyne, Page and Nicholls.
- Of the 20 electorates that get the most benefit from Stage 3, 17 are inner metro seats, with half of the top 20 electorates in Sydney, a quarter in Melbourne.
- Around half the Stage 3 tax cuts go to those earning over $180,000, with the total plan costing more than a quarter of a trillion dollars ($254b)
- Those on less than $45,000 per year will get nothing from Stage 3
“This data shows the bush and rural electorates will largely miss out on what are effectively tax cuts for rich people in the big smoke. That’s a problem for Australians struggling with cost of living and for a Government which says the federal budget lacks revenue for essential services in health, education, aged care and the NDIS,” said Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist at the Australia Institute.
“Many lower-income electorates and individuals will get comparatively little from this quarter of a trillion-dollar cost to the budget and those electorates are more likely to be rural and regional.
“People living in National Party seats and in Tasmanian electorates are some of the biggest losers from Stage 3 when compared to their city counterparts.
“At the other end, high income earners are more likely to be clustered in the inner metro areas of our largest capital cities which is why inner metro electorates get the largest benefit from Stage 3.
“The Stage 3 tax cuts will cost more than a quarter of a trillion dollars to the budget, which will only put pressure on funding essential health, education and community programs outside major cities.
“The Government should scrap or substantially amend the Stage 3 tax cuts to tackle economic inequality on a geographic and socio-economic basis.”
Analysis compares the dollar value of Stage 3 going to each electorate in 2024-25, the first year of the Stage 3 cuts.
