John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline to the House how the Morrison government's support to households and businesses through lower taxes is supporting Australians through the COVID-19 pandemic?

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

I thank the member for Bennelong for his question and acknowledge his experience in many fields before coming to this place, including being an Australian tennis great. The member for Bennelong understands that the budget is about creating more jobs, lowering taxes and guaranteeing essential services. It's a budget that was put together in the midst of the pandemic. Today, my fellow Victorians got some very difficult news about another lockdown, and our thoughts and our prayers are with all Victorian families and, indeed, businesses at this time as they go through a very difficult and challenging seven days.

In this budget we put in place policies to drive down taxes, including extending the low- and middle-income tax offset to provide tax relief to more than 10 million Australians. So, if you're earning $60,000, if you are a tradie or a teacher or a truck driver, then you will be more than $6,400 better off at the end of next financial year compared to before our tax plan rolled out. We also put in place the immediate expensing provision, which will support up to $320 billion of investment. And, today, we got new ABS data for the March quarter which showed that capital expenditure is up by more than six per cent, the biggest increase in a quarter for nine years, and manufacturing investment had the biggest jump in 16 years. We also, yesterday, got construction data for the March quarter which showed that construction for new homes was up by more than 10 per cent, the biggest increase in 20 years. This is the product of our policies.

We also put in place in the budget a new policy with a patent box for the medical and biotech industry. I have the opportunity to join with the member for Bennelong in his electorate at a great Australian company Cochlear, who are going to use the patent box to commercialise research and development undertaken in Australia and register it in a patent. That business, like so many others, is developing cutting-edge, world-leading technology which is saving lives and improving the lives of our fellow Australians. On this side of the House, we stand for lower taxes, and the budget does exactly that.