2021-07-29
The Greens have labelled it ‘Labor’s great leap rightwards’ as the ALP drops progressive policies like negative gearing and public dental while moving to support the Liberal’s radical right-wing flat tax policy.
New costings by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office revealed this week show an incredible gender and income bias in the benefit of proposed stage 3 tax cuts (full tables below):
- The tax cuts will cost a massive $184b over the next decade.
- 75% of the money goes to the top 20% of income earners.
- Almost half (45%) of the money goes to the people earning over $180,000 (currently the highest tax bracket), which, based on current tax statistics, are presently the top 3.5% of income earners.
- In its first year of operation (2024-25), the top 1% get almost twice as much ($1.3b/8%) money as the entire bottom 60% combined ($700m/4%).
- Over the decade, the richest 1% get:
- about the same as the entire bottom 60% ($11.8b/6.4% v $12.7b/6.9%);
- 15 times more than the entire bottom 40% of the population (who will earn between $40k and $60k a year over the decade) will get from these tax cuts.
- Men get two-thirds (66%) of the money, women get one third over the next decade. When it takes effect in 2024-25, the average tax cut for a man will be $1,430, twice as much as for a woman ($730).
- Across the whole income-earning population, when it takes effect in 2024-25, the average tax cut for someone in the richest 20% will be $4,230, which is 17 times the average tax cut for middle income Australians (the middle quintile) ($250).
Quotes attributable to Greens Leader, Adam Bandt:
“Liberal and Labor have just agreed to kill Australia’s progressive tax system.
“This great leap rightwards is a trickle-down disaster for the country.
“By becoming a ‘flat tax’ party that supports handouts to people who own 15 investment properties, Labor has abandoned its values.
“If you want to kick the Liberals out but have a government with progressive values, the only option now is to vote Green.
“The Greens don’t throw our values overboard. We will go to the next election defending a progressive tax system, pushing for a new tax on billionaires and fighting for an Australia that is more equal.
“In balance of power, the Greens will kick the Liberals out and push the next government to keep Australia’s progressive tax system and make billionaires pay more tax.
“The tax cuts are a trickle-down hand-out for rich men that will turbocharge economic and gender inequality in Australia.
“Labor and the Liberals now back public handouts to wealthy people with 15 investment properties, spending billions of dollars of public money to make housing unaffordable for young people.”