“That’s exactly what was promised prior to the 2013 election”, Mr Bowen said.
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“There’s no doubt that with the exemptions in place in relation to the GST, the GST’s base is narrowing”, Mr Hockey said. Mr Hockey said the volatility would hit confidence in Australia and that’s why the government had to keep reminding people they had one of the fastest-growing economies in the world right now.
Noting that our top tax bracket, which begins at $180,000, is “is extremely low when compared with other OECD nations”, Hockey argued that slugging people earning that much with high taxes is “seeing some of our best and brightest move to lower-tax countries” and that fear of falling into a higher tax bracket is “reducing the incentive for many Australians to work harder, earn more and invest”, which sounds like a pretty nice problem to have, really.
At a meeting with State Treasurers on Friday he announced at the GST would be applied to all online imports into Australia from 2017.
For Mr. Abbott’s supporters, including Mr. Hockey, a focus on tax relief and growth offer the hope of scoring victories against Labor, which is less trusted by voters on economic management.
On Monday, Mr Hockey said the Government would unveil personal income tax cuts before the next election, in response to bracket creep, when inflation drives up wages, pushing a greater number of Australians into higher tax brackets.
Mr Hockey’s speech was the third time in two months he has made the case for cutting income tax to address bracket creep but, again, he offered no detail as to how such cuts would be funded.
“There’s a little bit of a concern there that we are not at the point of actually doing things when it comes ton tax reform”, said the Australian Industry Group’s Innes Willox today on ABC radio. “No substance and no strategy means no jobs”, said chief executive Alex Malley.
“It’s in our DNA to want to deliver further tax cuts and we will in the run-up to the election”, he told reporters on Thursday Island.
He has kicked off a widespread taxation reform debate with a pledge to cut income tax.
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On the matter, Opposition leader Bill Shorten said in Brisbane on Tuesday: “This government has no plan for the future”. The Treasurer spent that month on holidays or dealing with private matters such his defamation action against Fairfax Media and the question of who would pay costs. Earlier this year, the prime minister narrowly survived a leadership challenge instigated by colleagues within his own Liberal Party.
