Those future tax cut promises... they're nowhere near as big as you'd think
- Written by Matthew Gray, Director, ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University
The 2018 budget contained big tax measures – worth A$143 billion over the next decade – initially targeted at lower and middle income Australians, but after five or so years to be heavily weighted towards higher income Australians. The 2019 Budget doubled down, including an extra $158 billion of measures, again heavily weighted towards higher income earners.
It’s possible to draw graphs showing that if the tax cuts came to pass, higher earners would be enormously better off compared to everyone else, but the graphs miss a really important point.
Authors: Matthew Gray, Director, ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods, Australian National University