Invest
Lower taxes lauded as Treasurer doubles down on budget
New commentary from the Treasurer has revealed the government is still hyper-fixed on maintaining its budget bottom line, with the minister also offering his stance on a possible wellbeing budget, superannuation guarantees and the luxury car tax.
Lower taxes lauded as Treasurer doubles down on budget
New commentary from the Treasurer has revealed the government is still hyper-fixed on maintaining its budget bottom line, with the minister also offering his stance on a possible wellbeing budget, superannuation guarantees and the luxury car tax.
In a recent interview, Josh Frydenberg remarked that the nation has “faced one after another economic events which have been outside of our control, which has adversely affected the budget bottom line”, but applauded what he sees as a “remarkably resilient” economy.
What’s coming next?
Highlighting the trade tensions between China and the US as ongoing, and the continuing drought “which has hit farm GDP and devastated those communities”, Mr Frydenberg added that Australia has also “had the fires and the floods and now the coronavirus”.
“I'm wondering what's coming next,” the Treasurer conceded.
“But I do know that the Australian economy is remarkably resilient.”
He flagged a fall to unemployment in the December period and the government’s announcement of a number of spending initiatives as reflective of federal efforts.
These included the $2 billion national bushfire recovery fund, more than an extra billion dollars for drought support since the election and the bringing forward of $4.2 billion of infrastructure spending and another half a billion dollars-plus for the aged care sector.
“All of these have been done without new taxes or new levies,” the Treasurer said.
“We know that when we went to the election we promised lower taxes and Labor promised higher taxes.”
The wellbeing budget
Continuing his attack on Labor, Mr Frydenberg also took the opportunity to poke ridicule at Labor MP and shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers’ suggestion earlier this week that Australia could look to implement a version of a wellbeing budget, “which redefines what ‘success’ means in terms of economic outcomes”.
A wellbeing budget – like the one recently championed by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern – is based on the notion that a nation’s financial prosperity alone will not sufficiently measure the quality of life felt by its residents
“Look, it's laughable,” he commented.
“I mean, Labor hasn't delivered a surplus since 1989 so it should surprise no one that they are going to look around for some other way to measure economic output.
“They will be looking for any alternative than proper accounting that has seen the Australian government, the Coalition government, deliver the first balance budget in 11 years,” he added, calling it “another thought bubble” from the opposition.
Superannuation increase
The Treasurer also took the opportunity to quell rumours around the changing of already legislated superannuation increases.
“Both the Prime Minister and I have made it very clear; we have no plans to change that legislated increase,” he remarked.
Again on the defensive, Mr Frydenberg commented that “I have to say, whenever the Labor Party talks about superannuation, it borders on the hysterical”.
“I mean, they can't brook any criticism from any quarter about anything to do with superannuation,” he stated.
“That makes them blind to the reforms that we need in superannuation, reforms that we have passed through the Parliament with them objecting in many cases.”
Mr Frydenberg brought up opt-in insurance for young people with superannuation, the cap on fees for low balance accounts and proactive consolidation of superannuation through the Australian Taxation Office of inactive low balance accounts as examples.
“That's what we have done, which is helping Australians, ensuring that their super is not eaten away by unnecessary fees,” he said.
“And it seems the Labor Party are stuck in the ideological conflicts of the past.”
Luxury car tax
The luxury car tax – first introduced in 2000 – has resurfaced as an issue with this week’s announcement that iconic car manufacturer Holden would be shutting its doors.
Stating that the tax was never brought in as a “protectionist measure”, Mr Frydenberg highlighted that the measure will bring “just under $3 billion of revenue coming in over the forward estimates”.
Again, the Treasurer re-iterated the government’s commitment to lower taxes.
“I would never say never about removing the luxury car tax, but I've always got to balance, you know, maintaining the strength of the national balance sheet and ensuring that we are committed to lower taxes,” he concluded.
About the author
About the author
Economy
Consumer confidence is quickly pushing Australia’s economy from recovery to expansion
Both Australian consumers and property investors came out of last month feeling pretty chuffed about the economy. ...Read more
Economy
4 Aussie cities among 10 most liveable in the world
This year’s global liveability score has been strongly influenced by measures taken to stem the spread of COVID-19, with cities ranked according to how successfully they dealt with the pandemic. Per...Read more
Economy
Australia attended the G7 as a ‘green laggard’, new report shows
Following a weekend at the G7, Australia has been labelled a “green laggard” as a consequence of letting its green competitiveness significantly slide over the past two decades. ...Read more
Economy
Melbourne’s lockdown ends tomorrow
As announced, Melbourne will begin its path out of lockdown as of 11.59pm Thursday evening, but some restrictions will remain. ...Read more
Economy
GDP slows to 60-year low
Australia’s gross domestic product per capita growth has fallen to its slowest pace in at least 60 years, with the massive government spending looking to come at a ‘great cost to future generation...Read more
Economy
Recovery falters just a month after JobKeeper ends
The end of JobKeeper has seen a rise in defaults and administrations, which could hamper Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 downturn, new research has revealed. ...Read more
Economy
Frydenberg considers JobKeeper return for Victorians
The federal government has granted Victoria Premier James Merlino a chance to pitch his ‘JobKeeper style’ aid, but it has refused to acknowledge that Victoria’s predicament could be linked to fe...Read more
Economy
Australia’s economy is officially back to pre-pandemic levels
As most economists predicted, Australia’s economy is back to pre-pandemic levels, the latest official figures show. ...Read more
Are you being priced out of the market? Have you got the Tuesday blues? And are you ready for the upcoming super changes?
Listen now
Are property prices set to crash? Should you jump on board the fintok craze? And how to prepare for this tax time
Listen now
Dissecting the budget and what it means for your equities, property and super
Listen now
Has the property market reached its peak; Biden’s climate summit and our sharemarket, and the upcoming budget
Listen now
Economy
Consumer confidence is quickly pushing Australia’s economy from recovery to expansion
Both Australian consumers and property investors came out of last month feeling pretty chuffed about the economy. ...Read more
Economy
4 Aussie cities among 10 most liveable in the world
This year’s global liveability score has been strongly influenced by measures taken to stem the spread of COVID-19, with cities ranked according to how successfully they dealt with the pandemic. Per...Read more
Economy
Australia attended the G7 as a ‘green laggard’, new report shows
Following a weekend at the G7, Australia has been labelled a “green laggard” as a consequence of letting its green competitiveness significantly slide over the past two decades. ...Read more
Economy
Melbourne’s lockdown ends tomorrow
As announced, Melbourne will begin its path out of lockdown as of 11.59pm Thursday evening, but some restrictions will remain. ...Read more
Economy
GDP slows to 60-year low
Australia’s gross domestic product per capita growth has fallen to its slowest pace in at least 60 years, with the massive government spending looking to come at a ‘great cost to future generation...Read more
Economy
Recovery falters just a month after JobKeeper ends
The end of JobKeeper has seen a rise in defaults and administrations, which could hamper Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 downturn, new research has revealed. ...Read more
Economy
Frydenberg considers JobKeeper return for Victorians
The federal government has granted Victoria Premier James Merlino a chance to pitch his ‘JobKeeper style’ aid, but it has refused to acknowledge that Victoria’s predicament could be linked to fe...Read more
Economy
Australia’s economy is officially back to pre-pandemic levels
As most economists predicted, Australia’s economy is back to pre-pandemic levels, the latest official figures show. ...Read more
More articles
Website Notifications
Get notifications in real-time for staying up to date with content that matters to you.
