Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. The government are engaged in a genuine discussion with the Australian people and within our own ranks as a government as we work through the very real issues about how you can have a growth-friendly tax system that will support jobs and growth. Part of that process is to work through the issues and that is exactly what the government are doing, intentionally. They are working through those issues. I can make it very clear, as I know the Prime Minister knows and all cabinet knows, that the government have not made a decision on this matter. I have not made any final decision on this matter, nor has the Prime Minister or the cabinet or anyone else. There is an open and obvious discussion taking place about what is the best way to support jobs and growth through our tax system.

On this side of the House we, of course, would very much like to ensure that the tax burden on Australians who are working and saving and investing is easy—of course we would like that. We would really like to see personal income taxes lower than they are today, but there are only three ways you can do that. First of all, you could fund it from a surplus that you inherited from the previous government. Well, we did not inherit a surplus from the previous government. What we inherited was an absolute mess, so you could not fund changes to personal income tax based on a strong budget position that was left to us by those opposite. Equally you could fund them by strong growth in nominal GDP into the future at the more than 11 per cent which occurred in the eighties, or the well over five per cent which was occurring under previous governments, or you could do it off soaring commodity prices which those opposite experienced while they were in government. But we know the reality of the global circumstances. We are wrestling with the very real issues of how to reduce the burden on Australians who are going to work every day and running small businesses every day, and try to ease the tax burden on them. It is not an easy task. Those opposite are not interested in that task. They just want to tax and spend.

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