Reworked stage 3 tax cuts will take effect from July

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Most working Australians will get more money back in their pocket, after the revised stage three tax cuts passed Parliament.

Transcript

00:00 Jemma, this is an overhaul of the original plan.

00:04 So what's happening now is that wealthy Australians will be getting less money back in their pocket

00:08 than what was expected under the initial stage three tax cut plan.

00:13 But low and middle income workers will actually be getting more than expected.

00:17 So to give you a bit of an idea around figures, if you're earning between $50,000 and $120,000

00:24 a year, you'll get about an extra $800 back per year compared to the original plan.

00:30 But if you're earning over $150,000, you will be losing some of that original planned tax cut.

00:36 In the end though, everyone still gets a tax cut, it's just a different amount to what

00:40 was initially planned.

00:42 Now the timing of this legislation passing Parliament couldn't be better for the Prime

00:47 Minister given that there is a by-election in Dunkley in Melbourne over the weekend.

00:52 And when cost of living is such a key issue for many people, the Government can use the

00:57 passing of this legislation as an example to how they're addressing cost of living pressures.

01:02 But at the same time, while the Coalition did support this legislation, they're pushing

01:07 the fact that the Prime Minister broke an election promise and they're trying to use

01:11 that in their campaigning in the Dunkley by-election.

01:14 The Prime Minister speaking earlier today on News Breakfast insisted that the changes

01:19 to this Stage 3 tax cut plan were necessary to further address the pressures that people

01:25 are facing with day-to-day costs.

01:28 The idea that we could sit back and ignore the clear recommendations that this was the

01:35 best way that we could have an impact of providing that assistance to middle Australia without

01:41 putting upward pressure on inflation, we couldn't ignore that.

01:46 We have a responsibility to do the right thing and that's precisely what we have done.

01:52 Well, we were always going to support lower taxes and that's why we said that we would

01:57 happily support the drop from 19 cents to 16 cents.

02:01 But that doesn't necessarily mean that there is support for the lie that the Prime Minister

02:05 and the Treasurer told more than 100 times since the election that they would stick with

02:10 the Stage 3 tax cut.

02:12 Staying on cost of living pressures, the Prime Minister has dismissed as nonsense this suggestion

02:18 that the Government is delaying a call on health insurance premiums.

02:21 That's right.

02:22 So what happens every year, Jemma, is that private health insurers, they go to the Government

02:25 with a proposal about how much the premiums should rise every year and the Government

02:30 then makes the final decision.

02:32 We know that private health insurers went to the Government last year and they asked

02:36 for a 6% increase on premiums.

02:39 A decision hasn't been made yet and the Coalition is saying that this decision is being delayed

02:44 because of the Dunkley by-election, because of course any price hike to private health

02:49 insurance isn't welcomed by any voters.

02:52 The Coalition is pointing to the fact that in previous years the decision is usually

02:56 announced around December, January or early February.

03:00 So let's take a listen to the Shadow Health Minister, Anne Ruston, followed by Anthony

03:06 Albanese dismissing her claims.

03:09 They absolutely should be able to provide this information.

03:13 They should be able to do a deal with the insurers.

03:17 That's what we did and we managed to get out the information in December.

03:21 What's wrong with the relationship between this Government and the private insurers if

03:23 they can't sit down and negotiate something in a timely way to give people certainty?

03:29 We make no apologies for pushing back against these health funds.

03:33 The health funds have got a story out there in their interests.

03:36 That's what they do and I reckon people will see through it pretty clearly.

03:41 We make no apologies for pushing back, trying to get the best deal possible for consumers.

03:46 That's what Mark Butler, the Health Minister, is doing.

03:49 That's his job.

03:52 As to when that decision will be announced, well it will have to be pretty soon given

03:56 that usually every year private health providers up the premium from the 1st of April.

04:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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