Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fairfax for his question. He brings to this place his experience in small business—experience which is absolutely missing from those opposite. In his electorate, more than 20,000 small businesses will be able to access the extended instant asset write-off which was announced in this budget; more than 63,000 taxpayers will be getting tax relief as a result of our announcements and our tax package; and around 25,000 of them will get the full $1,080 in the income tax offset.

Our economy—with 5.3 per cent unemployment, with a record number of people in work and workforce participation at a record high, with inflation at 1.6 per cent, with a trade surplus, with a balanced budget—is by those objective indicators a good economy. Now, whose words are those? They are the words of Australia's longest-serving and most successful Treasurer, and the architect of 10 budget surpluses, Peter Costello. That is what he said today about the Australian economy.

Part of our economic plan is tax cuts. These are tax cuts that have been legislated through this parliament, which will abolish a whole tax bracket, the 37c in the dollar tax bracket, and create one big tax bracket between $45,000 and $200,000, and will see more than 90 per cent of Australian taxpayers pay a marginal rate of no more than 30c in the dollar.

There was a clear contrast in the tax policies that were put to the Australian people at the last election. We supported lower taxes and we're delivering lower taxes. The Labor Party took to the last election $387 billion of higher taxes which are still on their books. If Labor had got into government, from 1 July this year retirees would have been hit with Labor's retirees' tax. People with superannuation would have been hit by Labor's superannuation tax and family businesses would have been hit with Labor's family business tax. The reality is that the Labor Party will always be the party of higher taxes chasing higher spending. The coalition will always be the party of lower taxes and a stronger economy.

Ms Burney interjecting—

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