00:02Well, apart from the obvious criticism of broken promises contained in last Tuesday's
00:08federal budget, there is also this criticism about the way that discretionary trusts will
00:15be taxed.
00:16So from 2028, there will be a minimum 30% tax rate on distributions from discretionary
00:25family trusts and also from new testamentary trusts that are set up after 2028.
00:33So another way to think about testamentary trusts is an inheritance trust.
00:38They essentially kick in after someone dies.
00:42Now, the opposition has labelled those changes a death tax, something that the federal treasurer
00:50Jim Chalmers and the Prime Minister have vehemently refuted, pointing out that there are no changes
00:57in the budget that would increase tax on inherited assets.
01:01There's also carve-outs for fixed trusts post-2028.
01:06Existing arrangements won't be impacted.
01:09There's a grandfathering system and deceased estates won't be impacted either.
01:14But amidst all of this debate, the government is today out across the country trying to
01:22sell measures it's already taken to boost housing supply across the country.
01:28The Prime Minister was in Hobart this morning.
01:31He then went to Adelaide.
01:33He'll be in Perth later this afternoon.
01:36We've seen the treasurer up in Brisbane talking about things like Labor's 5% home deposit scheme,
01:42a help-to-buy scheme, other measures intended to help the country boost supply and build 1.2 million
01:51new homes by the end of the decade.
01:53The combined Commonwealth and state government investment in boosting housing supply is around
01:59$47 billion.
02:01Now, to those other changes around capital gains tax and negative gearing, as well as some of
02:07these discretionary trusts, there has been, you know, some immediate feedback in the form
02:14of opinion polls out today.
02:17The news poll out in The Australian has ranked this budget as the worst in three decades,
02:23while a Resolve opinion poll has Labor down three points on its primary vote, down to 29%,
02:30and also has, for the first time, opposition leader Angus Taylor, ahead of Prime Minister
02:35Anthony Albanese as the preferred PM.
02:38Now, the government across the board here, from the treasurer to the Prime Minister and
02:44Housing Minister Claire O'Neill have said these decisions taken in last week's budget weren't
02:49about, you know, getting a short-term boost in opinion polls, but having a long-term positive
02:55impact on housing, that the package should be seen as, in its entirety, about making, the tax
03:03changes are about making the system more equitable, but also pointing out other measures that are
03:09intended to boost supply.
03:11So, look, on this question of a death tax, the Prime Minister strongly denied those assertions
03:20made by the Federal Opposition, explaining that there are exemptions in place.
03:26Well, the Coalition and their allies will say lots of things, and sometimes the allies
03:32will just repeat the lines coming from the Coalition, and that's up to them.
03:36But what we have put forward very clearly is a comprehensive policy, and of course, when
03:44it comes to trust, if people want to continue, the existing discretionary, testamentary trust,
03:53there's no change.
03:54They can continue with fixed trust.
03:57Now, Sarah, the Opposition Leader has also been outselling its budget response.
04:02Yes, that's right.
04:03So, the Federal Opposition Leader, Angus Taylor, also out today criticising the changes announced
04:10in Labor's budget, but also defending measures, including a plan to index income tax brackets
04:17with inflation, also impose a one-to-one cap on migration, essentially capping net overseas
04:25migration to one migrant per one new house built, and also a decision to remove permanent
04:34residents from welfare access, which is a contentious or controversial policy announcement for decades.
04:44Permanent residents who pay income tax in Australia have always had access to a full suite of government
04:50programs.
04:52Angus Taylor saying that citizenship matters and should make a difference in terms of how people
04:59are treated in this country.
05:02Well, citizenship matters.
05:04Citizenship matters.
05:07And it is beyond belief that this government, one of their first acts as a government, was
05:13to say that the 5% home deposit scheme should not be restricted to citizens.
05:18It should be eligible.
05:20Eligibility should be to anyone who arrives in this country.
05:24It makes no sense.
05:26If people commit to this country, if immigrants commit to this country, we will commit to them.
05:33So, Angus Taylor, opposition leader there.
05:36Just on a point of accuracy, the 5% home deposit scheme is only available to permanent residents.
05:44So, if you're a tourist or on a student visa, you don't have access to that scheme.
05:51But certainly, these debates around intergenerational equality, around migration, firming as real,
06:00you know, issues to be debated in the coming days, weeks, but also in the lead up to the next
06:07federal election.
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