Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed he will keep his promise and push ahead with tax cuts of up to $9,075 a year for hardworking Australians.
But the vague words Mr Albanese continues to use to reiterate his pledge have led to accusations that he is playing “word games”.
On Wednesday, Mr Albanese told an Adelaide radio station that the “tax cuts will happen in July. That’s what we’re committed to…we haven’t changed our position.”
And earlier this week the Prime Minister said: ‘The Government’s position has not changed… inequality is a problem and the Government has been looking at ways in which we can improve that position.’
The way the Prime Minister phrased his comments Sunrise presenter Natalie Barr asks Independent MP Zali Steggall if the Prime Minister is ‘playing word games’.
“It looks like he’s not just saying yes, something simple,” she noted.
Natalie Barr has challenged Anthony Albanese (pictured) over ‘wordplay’ as he reiterated his pledge to deliver tax cuts of up to $9,075 a year for hardworking Australians
The tax cuts, passed by the previous coalition government, will create a single tax bracket for workers earning between $45,000 and $200,000 a year.
Mr Albanese said the cuts are still ongoing and will take effect on July 1, but Mr Barr has suggested the words he used give him some wiggle room.
Ms Steggall said the Prime Minister is under pressure from Labor MPs on the issue, ‘where there is likely to be dissent’.
She said there are also differing views on the tax cuts in her affluent community on Sydney’s northern beaches.
‘I did a survey on it and the reactions were mixed when it came to keeping it, shelving it or adapting it.
“And so I think (Mr. Albanese) will probably have to do that as well, but because we’re in the process of putting them into effect now, I think it would be very difficult to change them at this point.”
The independent MP said she was in favor of the expected tax cuts, but pointed out that they were “legislated in 2019 under the Morrison government.
“At the time, there were concerns that we would be bundling three different phases of tax reform into one, well before they would come into effect.”
But the MP for Warringah on Sydney’s Northern Beaches added: ‘People rely on them and expect them, especially with the cost of living crisis.
“So I think it would be foolish and difficult for the Prime Minister to change them.”
She added that ‘it’s a percentage discount. People with a high income therefore pay more tax and therefore receive a larger reduction or rebate.’
Ms Steggall acknowledged some people are concerned that the stage three tax cuts could have an inflationary impact on the Australian economy, at a time when inflation is starting to fall after a long run of interest rate rises.
“But I think at this point, given the cost of living, these will be welcome for most households,” she said.
Workers with taxable incomes above $45,000 will benefit from the tax cuts, but high-income workers will likely receive the highest gains.
Despite facing calls to scrap the tax cuts in favor of other cost-of-living relief measures, Albanese said the government would keep its election promise to keep them in place.
“The government’s position has not changed… inequality is an issue and the government has looked at ways in which we can improve that position,” he told ABC Radio on Monday.
Asked about the impact this policy would have on inflation, Mr Albanese said the Reserve Bank had already “built in” the tax cuts.
“We think income tax relief is a way to help people because it means extra dollars in people’s pockets,” he said.
Natalie Barr (pictured) has suggested that Anthony Albanese is using words that give him some leeway on the upcoming tax cut
Mr Albanese said Labor would continue to look at measures to help struggling Aussies ahead of the federal budget.
Housing Minister Julie Collins also said the government was committed to the tax cuts.
“We went into the election saying we would keep the third phase of tax cuts, and our position has not changed,” she told reporters in Canberra.
“What we’re doing is working across the board on how we can provide cost-of-living relief to Australians who need it most.”