Australian Greens Leader, Adam Bandt, has described the Morrison Government’s ideological determination to cut taxes for high income earners as ill-timed and irresponsible, and criticised Labor for backing the move.
The tax cuts would increase inequality in Australia:
- The biggest beneficiaries of the proposed stage 2 tax cuts would be those earning over $120,000.
- These cuts would give high income earners, including those with incomes over $1,000,000, an extra $2,430 per year.
- Previous analysis from the The Australia Institute has shown that more than half (54%) of the Government’s Stage 2 & 3 income tax cut package flows to the top 20% of income earners
“What good is a tax cut if you don’t have a job?” Bandt said.
“Tax cuts mean less money in the public purse to invest in job-creating, nation-building projects, which is the pathway to recovery.
“Labor’s support for the Liberals’ tax cuts will turbo-charge inequality and slow the economic recovery.”
“The biggest beneificiaries of this move are higher income earners. Millionaires will benefit more from these tax cuts than low-income earners.”
“A tax cut for the rich isn’t going to re-open Melbourne restaurants, or resuscitate the arts sector. There’s no basis for it, other than the usual Liberal/Labor trickle-down ideology.
“Tax cuts won’t do anything to help the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have lost their jobs due to the epidemic. To float billions in tax cuts as the government pulls vital supports like childcare and JobKeeper is reckless in the extreme.
“Instead of cutting taxes for millionaires, the Government should stimulate the economy through investment in green infrastructure, rebooting Australian manufacturing and expanding JobKeeper to cover casuals, temporary visa holders and the higher education sector.
“It’s hard to believe, but even as 5 million Australians head back into lockdown, we’re seeing the Coalition push for massive, expensive tax cuts for millionaires and Labor backing them to the hilt. The Greens will fight for services and investment instead of tax cuts,” Bandt said.
