Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Is the Prime Minister aware that, on Sky News today, the CEO of the Grattan Institute said the government's income tax scheme includes 'a small tax cut for low-income earners' and 'a very large tax cut for high-income earners'? Can the Prime Minister detect a pattern here? Is this why the Prime Minister won't give a straight answer on the cost of his policies?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

All of the details of the impact of the personal income tax cuts on different levels of income and different households are all set out in the budget papers and accompanying documents. It is very, very clear that the tax relief goes to, in the first instance, people on low and middle incomes, and subsequently it goes to the broad range of income earners other than those. Of course, the rate that is not affected is the 45 per cent rate, and the threshold is lifted to $200,000 in seven years time. The 10-year cost has been given already by the Treasurer, but the point is that the income tax system remains, in terms of the distribution of the burden, as it is today, where the largest share of the tax is paid by those on higher incomes. I refer the honourable member to the answer I gave the member for Melbourne a moment ago.