PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Mr PASIN (Barker) (10:53): Australians know their money isn't going as far as it used to. Groceries cost more, power costs more, insurance costs more, mortgages cost more and so do rents. It seems the Albanese Labor government doesn't register this as a problem, proposing to reach further into the pockets of everyday Australians with the highest tax increases in history through last month's budget, breaking promises along the way.
Labor lied before the election; they betrayed Australians on budget night, and now they've rammed through toxic taxes on Australians trying to get ahead. Because Labor can't manage its money, they're coming after yours—and you may not even be told it's coming. Through a rushed two-day inquiry on the bill, a new tax was discovered: the widows tax, where a change of ownership as a result of death or divorce might mean losing the grandfathered exemptions to capital gains and negative gearing.
With the widow tax exposed, Labor had the chance to remove it when passing the bill last week, and you'd think they would have, but they didn't. They refused. They knew the bill was defective and they passed it anyway.
The coalition stands ready to help them fix their mistake. Labor faces a simple test this week. If they're serious about fixing the widow tax, then they'll vote for our amendments.
If, on the other hand, they vote no, Australians will know this has been just another Labor mistruth. I also urge the Prime Minister and the rest of the Labor government to get out into their communities and speak to small business owners, families and hardworking Australians. If they do, I know they will see just as how harmful their new taxes are and how much stress Australians are facing because of this tax agenda.
I've been in non-stop contact with small-business owners across Barker. On my regular street walks and at roundtables the message is the same: small-business operators are wondering why they should work so hard to try to get ahead. The more they work and the more they grow their businesses, it would seem, the more this government punishes them with higher taxes and more red tape.
Of course, this contributes to higher costs. Australians shouldn't be punished for working hard. They shouldn't be punished for getting a pay rise.
Labor's high-tax agenda pushes Australians at every turn. Our plan will be for a freer, fairer system. It will back Australians to work hard, to take risks and to invest in their future.
It will also force the government to respect Australian taxpayers' money. The coalition will introduce a tax back guarantee, which will end inflation tax and stop Australians being taxed more simply because prices have gone up. The principle is simple.
When your wage rises just to keep pace with inflation, you're no better off. But under the current tax system you're actually worse off because you're forced into higher and higher tax brackets, paying higher and higher tax for no reason other than that wages are trying to keep pace with inflation that's been let out of the bottle by those opposite. From 2028-29, the tax-free threshold and the $45,000 threshold will be lifted in line with inflation.
This will fully protect around 85 per cent of Australia's income earners. For a typical income earner, relief will be around $250 in year 1, but that will grow to around $1,000 in year 4. From 2031-32, the $135,000 and $190,000 thresholds will also be lifted in line with inflation.
Taxpayers in those brackets will see tax relief in the 2031-32 year of around $1,250 and $1,600 respectively. The Tax Back Guarantee is a fair, simple and honest reform that will stop Australians in higher tax brackets being punished just because prices have gone up. Under those opposite and their high-taxing agenda, Australians are working harder, paying more and falling further behind.
Under the coalition, Australians will be rewarded. They'll keep more of what they earn and they'll get back to getting ahead.