Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

The exact opposite is true. We inherited spending from the Labor government of about 3.7 per cent above inflation. Over the medium term we have reduced it down to 1.5 per cent above inflation. Taxes as a share of GDP are manifestly on a lower trajectory than they were under Labor. We got rid of the carbon tax, we got rid of the mining tax. Last night we delivered a company tax cut for all small businesses across Australia. Ninety-six per cent of small businesses across Australia will now pay less tax from 1 July 2015 onwards. We have provided additional depreciation benefits for small businesses. Of courses, taxes as a share of the economy are lower than they would have been under Labor—significantly lower. Not only that, a debt reduction in net debt will peak in 2016-17 and will start to come down as a result of the decisions that we have made and, of course, without any help from the Labor Party.

Senator Conroy interjecting—