Kate Thwaites (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Why does the Treasurer always talk about reducing taxes when, in truth, he is the second-highest-taxing Treasurer of the last 30 years?

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

We have been cutting taxes for all Australians. That is our policy. At the last election, only one side of this parliament went to the Australian people with a tax-to-GDP cap of 23.9 per cent. If the Labor Party had got their way and introduced their $387 billion of higher taxes, that tax-to-GDP ratio would have been close to 26 per cent. The reality is we have been cutting taxes for families, against the wishes of those opposite, so that somebody on $60,000—a teacher, a tradie or a nurse—is paying $6,480 less tax as a result of policies that we have passed through this parliament. Business investment incentives, with the expanded and extended instant asset write-off, have seen a non-mining investment intention for this year of over $100 billion of investment being planned. Then there are the loss carryback measures, the patent box that I announced at the last budget and the small-business tax cuts that are seeing small businesses pay the lowest tax rate in 50 years, at 25c in the dollar.

We have been opposed every step of the way by those opposite when it comes to taxes. When it comes to taxes, only one side of this House can be trusted to deliver lower taxes, and it is the Liberals and the National Party. It is the coalition that can be trusted to deliver lower taxes. We remember the member for McMahon at the last election, who said, 'If you don't like our tax hike, don't vote for us.' And what did people do? They didn't vote for them! Remember the member for Rankin, who said he was proud of and pleased with Labor's retirees tax and Labor 's housing tax.

And the member for Maribyrnong talked about retirees and small business being the top end of town and sitting at the back of their yachts. Remember the class warfare from those opposite, attacking small businesses, attacking family businesses, attacking retirees, attacking people with superannuation and attacking people when all they wanted to do was keep more of what they earn.

There is one side of this House that has consistently delivered lower taxes. It is this coalition. It is the Liberal Party and the National Party. It is only the Labor Party who are proposing higher taxes. The Australian people rejected them at the last election, and at the next election they will have an opportunity to do just the same.

Andrew Wallace (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Before I call the member for Sturt, in one of those interjections did the member for Rankin make an unparliamentary remark?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.