Jim Chalmers reveals why he’s not sorry for breaking a key election promise and overhauling the Stage Three tax cuts
Jim Chalmers has defended changes to the phase three tax cuts, claiming it was “worth it” to break Labor’s election promise so he could help more Australians.
The federal treasurer said he pondered what the change would mean during his early morning walks in his electorate in Logan, south of Brisbane, over the summer.
He reflected on how his nurse mother Carol worked night shifts to support their family and concluded that breaking the election promise was worth the “little bit of sadness” he knew would follow the decision.
The coalition passed the phase three tax cuts through parliament in 2019, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese repeatedly promising no changes would be made.
He has since reworked the original halving plans the benefit for Australians earning more than $180,000, in favor of a boost for lower earners.
The move has sparked outrage, with opposition leader Peter Dutton calling for an immediate election.
Mr Chalmers remained defiant and told the Courier mail he is ‘sick of people saying that ambition in Australia is limited to people who are already doing quite well’.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers (pictured with his wife Laura) said Labor broke its election promise with the phase three tax cuts to help more Australians than would have benefited under the previous plan
He said ambitious Australia is the place where people “do their very best” to give their children a better life and that the tax changes he and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are making will mean “there is a reward for efforts around the world . income scale’.
The big winners under Labor’s withdrawal include those earning less than $45,000 a year, who will not receive up to $805 from their tax bill instead of nothing, which they would have received under Coalition legislation.
And the 85 percent of taxpayers making between $50,000 and $130,000 will get $804 more than what was previously promised.
Those who have the most to lose if Labour’s changes pass the Senate with cross-bench support are those earning more than $200,000, who will see their tax savings halved from $9,075 to $4,529.
The Treasurer said the tax cuts β which will benefit 13.6 million Australians β are the best way to alleviate the cost of living pressures being felt across the country.
He remembered his mother coming home from a night shift just as he was about to go to school, and said he now thinks about the people in the cars he sees while running and on their way to work or going home after a shift.
‘One of the reasons I wanted to represent them in the national parliament is to support the shift workers and the people with modest and middle incomes, so that if they work hard, they get enough to take care of their loved ones and get ahead ‘, he said. .
‘It’s about doing more than just recognizing that people are under pressure and actually doing something about it.
‘Unlike the old phase three, our plan provides tax cuts across the income scale, so that every taxpayer gets a tax cut to help with living costs.’
However, the Opposition is not buying Labor’s explanations for its dramatic tax hike, with Mr Dutton saying it is about impressing voters in Dunkley, Victoria.
However, the Opposition are not buying Labor’s explanations for its dramatic tax hike, with Dutton saying it is about impressing voters in Dunkley, Victoria.
That electorate faces a by-election on March 2 following the tragic death of Labor MP Peta Murphy in late 2023.
Internal Liberal polls had indicated that Labour’s popularity among the electorate had plummeted.
βIt’s definitely to try and boost their numbers in Dunkley,β Dutton told reporters. ‘I think the Prime Minister has panicked. That’s as clear as it gets.’