Labour’s revised Stage 3 tax cuts have passed through Parliament, providing additional relief to taxpayers on July 1.
After a vote was decided in the Senate on Tuesday night, the Coalition reluctantly backed the government’s tax overhaul, which means all 13.6 million Australian taxpayers will get tax relief from the middle of the year.
At a press conference after the tax package’s approval, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the change a “huge win” for Australian workers.
“Australians will earn more and they will get to keep more of what they earn,” Albanese said.
The Prime Minister, who has faced significant criticism from the coalition for his shaky policies, then targeted the opposition for their response.
“When this was announced, first they (the coalition) said they would oppose it, then they said they would fight it, then they said they would reverse it, and then Peter Dutton called for a federal election on this policy before they voted for it. .’
Ahead of the final vote, opposition spokeswoman Jane Hume told the Senate the Coalition would not oppose tax relief for Australians.
“But that doesn’t mean we condone the lie that was told,” Senator Hume said, pointing to the government’s broken promise to change the tax package.
Labour’s revised Stage 3 tax cuts have passed through Parliament, guaranteeing additional relief for taxpayers on July 1
The Greens, who wanted to refer the legislation to committee, received no support for their proposal.
The Albanian government’s adjustment to the Phase 3 tax cuts maintains the tax-free threshold at the current rate of $19,200, reduces the rate on income up to $45,000 to 16 percent – down from 19 percent – and lowers the rate of $45,000. tax bracket from $135,000 to 30 percent – down from 32.5 percent.
In addition, the 37 percent tax bracket remains between $135,000 and $190,000, with the top marginal tax rate then kicking in at $190,000 at a rate of 45 percent.
The overhaul takes advantage of tax changes introduced by the then Morrison government in 2019, which would have created a single tax bracket between $45,000 and $180,000 at a 30 per cent rate.
Despite providing additional relief to taxpayers under pressure from high interest rates and still high inflation, Albanese has failed to gain further support in the polls, according to surveys by Newspoll and Resolve.
The coalition has pledged to develop a tax reform package that would be “consistent with the Phase 3 tax cuts” before the next federal election, due no later than May 2025.
The passage of the bill comes just days before the crucial Dunkley by-election, which will be a litmus test for central Australia, which is under pressure from cost-of-living pressures.
Albanese and opposition leader Peter Dutton have both shrunk their chances of electoral success in Saturday’s by-election.
The seat, on the Mornington Peninsula southeast of Melbourne, was vacated following the death of former Labor MP Peta Murphy, who died in early December aged 50.
The overhaul takes advantage of tax changes introduced by the then Morrison government in 2019, which would have created a single tax bracket between $45,000 and $180,000 at a rate of 30 per cent.
In Saturday’s election, Mr Albanese’s choice, community leader and teacher Jodie Beylea, will face three-time Frankston City Council mayor Nathan Conroy, the Liberal Party candidate.
Speaking to their respective parliamentary party rooms on Tuesday, Mr Albanese and Mr Dutton both downplayed expectations of winning the seat, citing historical data that they claimed would make achieving victory a difficult task.
Labor is widely expected to retain the seat, which it holds with a two-party preference margin of 6.3 per cent, while coalition strategists expect it can achieve a swing of between 3 and 4 per cent.
The election battle in Dunkley, which has a large number of heavily indebted households, is seen as a crucial test for the Albanian government’s track record in easing current cost-of-living pressures.
Dutton’s strategy for the next federal election, which aims to win similar seats in the suburbs, will also be tested.