Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I hear a bit of noise from the other side. They were very good at keeping promises, weren't they? There was Grocery Watch and all those sort of things, which they seem to have forgotten about. An old adage comes to mind when we talk about taxes: there is no certainty in life except death and taxes. Taxes are necessary in a civil society to fund essential government services. But we should never lose sight of where this money actually comes from. It's not the government's money; it is money from hardworking Australians. We have an obligation to those hardworking Australians to ensure that we spend within our means, take as little as we possibly can and avoid the wasteful spending that those on the opposite side thrive on.

Our tax system needs reform; anyone who thinks it doesn't has blinkers on. This bill is just one part of our reform of the tax system. This bill will deliver lower, fairer and simpler taxes. We have to remember that this money, as I said before, is the money of every Australian. It is not the government's money. Australians have earned it, they have worked hard for it, they know how to spend it and they should have the right to spend it. No-one knows better how to spend money than those who have earned it. We have heard that from some very famous people and we have heard it from many on this side as well. But those opposite, like every other left-leaning political party around the world, seem to believe they know what is best for you. This is quite a paternalistic view; but, then again, those opposite have never trusted the Australian people with personal responsibility.

There are 71,736 taxpayers in my electorate of Swan and they stand to benefit from the upcoming low- and middle-income tax relief in 2018-19. There are 99,248 constituents on the electoral role in Swan. Of that number, 71,736 people are going to be better off under our personal income tax plan. That sounds pretty good to me.

This bill contains a number of changes that strike the right balance between improving the system for all Australians and ensuring that the top earners pay their fair share. We are helping people manage household budget pressures. Those opposite, whenever they are on the government benches, completely disregard the budgetary pressures on Australian families. This government, through this bill, is providing certainty for most working Australians that they will face the same tax rate over their working life. The coalition government's seven-year plan is affordable and fiscally responsible, as outlined in the budget. It will provide certainty to workers and, unlike the plans of those opposite, it will ensure that, if you make more money, if you work overtime or happen to come into share dividends or spend more time working on a weekend, you won't be penalised by a higher tax rate.

Labor has already announced more than $200 billion of taxes whilst in opposition. There is the housing tax, the savings tax, the family business tax and now we have the retirees tax. And we could probably see the introduction of a death tax under the opposition—obviously something the Australian people don't like. Those opposite, under the current Labor leader, are for higher taxes. Liberals are for lower taxes.

Opposition members interjecting—

Perhaps they want to follow the advice of Bernie Sanders and mention the paradise of Venezuela under Maduro—because that seems to be where they have lifted their tax plan from. I heard the member for Mackellar speaking here about Venezuela and letting the member for Fenner know what the actual problems are with a high-taxing government and why people cross the borders to spend their money and purchase products because they can't afford to buy them in their own country, where the taxes are so high. Those opposite don't like self-funded retirees—we know that—or anyone who has taken a bit of a risk in their lives. We know those opposite have sold out any credentials to say they care about business.

This bill has three parts and is extended over seven years. Step 1 of this bill is providing tax relief to low- and middle-income earners to help ease the cost of living pressures. This bill will start permanent tax relief by introducing the low- and middle-income tax offset, a new non-refundable tax offset for the 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 income years. This offset will assist over 10 million Australians, with a maximum benefit of $530 being provided to around 4.4 million taxpayers. Taxpayers earning between $48,000 and $90,000 will receive the maximum benefit of $530. For some reason, those opposite seem to think that $530 isn't much to anyone. For context, for a uni student that difference will mean whether or not they can cover two years of the compulsory student union fees those opposite rammed through the parliament when they last sat on these benches. This offset will provide a benefit of up to $200 for taxpayers with taxable incomes up to $37,000. From $37,000 it will increase at a rate of three cents per dollar to a maximum benefit of $530 for taxable incomes of $48,000. The offset will phase out at a rate of 1.5 cents per dollar between the taxable incomes of $90,000 and $125,333.

Step 2 of this bill will be to combat bracket creep, something that people of our age and, I'm sure, the member for Moreton have lived under for many years. Many Australians have enormous disdain for it. This is something that the coalition want to get rid of, but those opposite seem to care about that as much as they care about small business. From 2018-19 the top threshold for 32.5 per cent income tax bracket will be increased from $87,000 to $90,000, reducing taxes by up to $135 for taxpayers earning above $87,000. This will help many in my electorate, considering that in the great state of Western Australia the average salary is already around $88,000. But, according to the member for McMahon, if they earn $3,000 or $4,000 more they are rich. From 2022-23 the top threshold of the 32.5 per cent bracket will be further increased from $90,000 to $120,000, and the top threshold of the 19 per cent bracket will be increased from $37,000 to $41,000. The low- and middle-income tax offset will be replaced by increasing the low income tax offset from $445 to $645. The increased LITO and the increase in the top threshold of the 19 per cent bracket guarantee the benefits of step 1.

Here are a few examples to see what it means for people in my electorate. An accountant, say, on $87,000 in Swan will have an extra $530 in his or her pocket from the budget year onwards. That means an extra $3,740 in their pocket over the first seven years of the tax plan. A shop assistant on $45,000 in Swan will have an extra $440 in their pocket from the budget year onwards. That means an extra $3,380 in their pocket over the first seven years of the tax plan as the tax relief increases. A hairdresser on $50,000 in Swan will have an extra $530 in their pocket from the budget year onwards, with an extra $3,740 in their pocket over the first seven years of the tax plan as the tax relief increases.

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