Michaelia Cash (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Rennick for his question. In the Morrison government, those of us on this side of the chamber, the one thing we well and truly all agree on is that tax cuts well and truly benefit the economy. We believe that lower taxes are the best way for our economy to thrive. What do they do? They put more money in the pockets of hardworking Australians—and of course that money is the money of those hardworking Australians, so we're really giving it back to them. But we're also putting money back into the pockets of small businesses. As we know, when a small business get a tax cut, they actually invest back into their business, and that's a good thing for all Australians.

Since last July about $9 billion in tax cuts has landed in the pockets of around 8.8 million Australians. This is money that has been returned to them. What has it done? It has boosted household balance sheets. What we've also seen is consumer confidence rise now above pre-pandemic levels. We're not stopping there, though. A further $2 billion per month in tax cuts will flow to Australians between now and the end of September. Why is that? Because the Morrison government believe in giving people back their hard-earned money by way of reducing their taxes. What that also means for small businesses is that, when households are able to keep more of their money—$9 billion is now back in the pockets of families—they are able to go out and support those local businesses. Of course, when you support a local business, you're ultimately supporting jobs, and that's what this government is all about—supporting jobs in the economy.