Brendan Nelson (Bradfield, Liberal Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why is the government increasing taxes and charges by almost $20 billion when economic growth has halved to 0.3 per cent?

Kevin Rudd (Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the Opposition’s question is based on a wrong premise—that is, that the tax to GDP ratio in this budget decreases tax as a proportion of GDP relative to the last budget brought down by the previous government. I would suggest that the Leader of the Opposition studies carefully his own budget papers from the past and applies the only rational measure to this, which is tax as a proportion of GDP. He will reach one conclusion, and that is that the government which he was part of was this country’s highest taxing government. By contrast, what we have brought down is a budget which reduces the overall tax burden on the economy.