Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for the Environment) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates and Other Amendments) Bill 2013 is part of a package of bills to remove the carbon tax.

This bill amends elements of the Clean Energy (Income Tax Rates Amendments) Act 2011 to repeal the second round of personal income tax cuts due to start on 1 July 2015.

The government understands households will continue to face cost-of-living pressures.

That is why the government is keeping the current carbon tax related personal income tax thresholds and the fortnightly pension and benefit increases.

In its final budget handed down on 14 May 2013, the former government deferred a second round of personal income tax cuts and booked a $1.5 billion saving over the forward estimates.

But the former government never followed through by legislating this change.

This bill repeals legislated amendments to the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 so that the statutory personal income tax rates and thresholds do not change on 1 July 2015.

This bill also amends the Clean Energy (Tax Laws Amendments) Act 2011 to repeal related amendments to the low-income tax offset.

This bill also repeals legislated amendments to the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 so that the related amendments to the low-income tax offset do not take effect on 1 July 2015.

Overall, the repeal of these amendments means that the tax-free threshold will remain at $18,200.

The second personal marginal tax rate will remain at 32.5 per cent. And the maximum value of the low-income tax offset will remain at $445.

This bill legislates the $1.5 billion saving that the former government announced during the 2013-14 budget but never legislated.

A first round of tax cuts to compensate for the introduction of the carbon tax has already been delivered. We will deliver further savings to Australian households of $550 next financial year on average with the removal of the carbon tax. In short this is our saving for the Australian people. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.

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