Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Can the Prime Minister confirm that, under his tax plan, a nurse who earns $50,000 will have the same marginal tax rate as a lawyer who earns $200,000 a year. How is that fair?

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

I thank the honourable member for his question. Under the revised tax scales, at the end of the seven-year plan, the 45c threshold comes in at $200,000, so the marginal tax rate thereon is 45c in the dollar plus the Medicare levy. The 32½c marginal rate goes from $41,000 to $200,000. I refer honourable members to the Grattan Institute's report, which they quoted from earlier, which says:

Once fully implemented, the PIT plan doesn't change the progressivity of the tax system much. Overall, those on high incomes will pay a similar proportion of total tax revenues with or without the plan.