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

Bracket creep is a problem. Bracket creep is a drag on growth. I have actually been asked this sort of question here before. Right now, bracket creep, to the extent that it is a problem—and it is—is less of a problem than it has been, because of lower wage inflation. If you look at the most recent ABS statistics, you can see that wage inflation is the lowest it has been since records were first kept—since 1988. So obviously that is one of the factors we have to take into account as we make judgements about what is the best possible approach we can take, given the budget position we are in, and what we can responsibly afford in the context of our current budget. These are the sorts of judgements the government is currently making.