Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I see this motion as an opportunity to debunk some of the myths put by the other side to our being a significant reforming government when it comes to tax. Our government has been working very hard to reform the tax system. In fact, many of the reforms that we have made have directly benefited people in my electorate, and they have particularly benefited low-income earners—and I will go through some of them later. In terms of the myth that we are somehow a high-taxing government, I think the 'facts' are wrong there. It is actually the previous coalition government, the Howard government, that is the greatest taxing government on record. In fact, the tax-to-GDP ratio will be lower than 22 per cent in 2012-13—that is significantly lower.

If we had kept the tax regime of the Howard government, we would have collected $30 billion in extra tax. But we believed when we came to government that tax reform was a must and that tax should be given back to the people who deserved it. Our first action was to give $47 billion worth of tax cuts. This was a significant reform and it came soon after we were elected to government. We delivered those cuts to low- and middle-income earners—to those people who needed tax relief the most.

But we did not stop there. Indeed, we took one million people out of the tax system by increasing the tax-free threshold to $18,200 on 1 July 2012, and then from 1 July 2015 it will be increased to $19,400. No-one can underestimate the impact that this will have for many low-income earners. It is not only that those in the workforce are able to pocket more money but that people are encouraged to get into the workforce because they are not being penalised. That is only the case under this government, because we know through slips of the tongue by the shadow Treasurer that the Liberal Party, if they were to ever get elected, will put those million people back into the tax system. They will make them pay tax. They will discourage them from entering the workforce and from participating in the workforce. This is very short-sighted by those opposite. We are proud of this particular reforming aspect—and not only that, we have also made a significant change to the effective tax paid on superannuation by low-income earners. Indeed, at the moment there is a flat tax rate for superannuation concession contributions. As a result, that flat tax rate has led to low-income earners receiving little or no concession. It is this government that is addressing that and that will provide a superannuation contribution of up to $500 annually for individuals on adjusted taxable incomes of up to $37,000 to improve the equity of the superannuation taxation arrangements. These two measures together say clearly to low-income earners, 'We are going to help you now, provide you with tax relief now, so that you can participate in the workforce; but we will also provide you with tax relief and tax help when it comes to superannuation, when it come to saving for the future.'

Those two incredibly important measures were opposed by those opposite. The shadow Treasurer has also said that he will put the tax back onto low-income earners when it comes to superannuation. It was very interesting to hear the previous speaker talk about tax on superannuation. It is those on the other side that have a plan to put tax back onto superannuation—indeed, onto those who have the most difficulty in earning.

These are two very significant tax reforms. Time does not allow me to get to the many, many others. We have certainly enabled people to have better cash flow in their small businesses through the loss carry-back and the instant asset write-off. These two measures help with the cash flow that is so important for small business. It is something that the previous government ignored but that we have allowed. Indeed, it encourages investment. There is a plan for the future. (Time expired)

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