Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I am not pretending to be an economic expert, but I would say to the honourable senator that, broadly speaking, I suspect that the honourable senator is right. In addition to the Family Tax Benefit Part A, eligible single-income families currently have access to Family Tax Benefit Part B annual payments totalling up to $4,274 for children under the age of five and $3,091 for children aged between five and 15 years. Depending on the design of the system, income splitting alone may not replace Family Tax Benefit Part B in simple dollar terms and could be less targeted than the current transfer system. Income splitting, depending on how it is designed, may add complexity to the tax system and discourage secondary earners from entering the workforce through high effective marginal tax rates, and additional assistance would still be required.