Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

By contrast, last year we scrapped the carbon tax and we scrapped the mining tax. This year, there is a 1.5 per cent tax cut for incorporated small business, there is a five per cent tax discount for unincorporated small business and there is instant asset write-off for all small business. As far as I am concerned, every coalition budget should be a tax-cutting budget.

We think that the more money we save for the people of Australia—the more of your money that stays in your pockets—the better for everyone. No-one knows how to spend money more wisely than the people who made it. No-one knows better how to spend money wisely than the people who earned it in the first place by the sweat of their brow and by the ingenuity of their minds. It belongs to the people who made it; it does not belong to the stealthy tax-grabbers opposite—the sneaks who will come in in the middle of the night and take money from inactive bank accounts.

The pensioners, the kids and the small business people of Australia deserve more money in their pockets and they deserve less tax, and that is what they have under this government. That is in contrast to members opposite. If the Leader of the Opposition ever became Prime Minister, the carbon tax would be back, the mining tax would be back, there would be more raids on your superannuation accounts—and of course Swannie would be back, because he is now running the election policies.

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