Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has given his strongest hint yet he could change the scheduled Stage Three tax cuts for the rich.
On the Kyle and Jackie O show on KIIS FM on Tuesday morning, the PM vowed the government would now be aiming to support low and middle income earners.
The comments fuel expectations the government will U-turn and now scrap the controversial plans to cut the top rate of taxes for the nation’s wealthiest earners.
The Stage Three tax cut was an inherited policy from the previous Coalition government, but the Labor government had always pledged to support it.
Just 18 months ago, the PM insisted in a TV interview with Seven’s Spotlight that he would not be making any changes to the tax cuts: ‘My word is my bond…I’ve always been a man of my word.
‘We said during the election campaign that we would maintain the position that had already been legislated.
‘I believe that when you go to an election and you make commitments you should stick to them.’
But on Tuesday morning, the PM seemed to have changed his tune in the revealing chat with the radio hosts.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised a ‘tax cut for everyone’ but in a chat with Kyle and Jackie O (pictured) , he gave his strongest hint yet he is set to rip up the scheduled Stage Three tax plans for the rich
He told them: ‘I support tax cuts. Everyone will be getting a tax cut.
‘What we need to do, across the board, what we’re looking at, is how we can help low and middle income earners.
‘Middle particularly is doing it really tough. People have a mortgage so we’re looking at ways in which we can provide assistance to them.’
Host Kyle Sandilands quizzed the PM if he would be getting a tax cut in this year’s upcoming budget, and added: ‘I’m on the highest tax bracket there is. The highest.’
The PM replied: ‘That’s because you’re one of the highest earners – that’s a good thing.’
Labor is set to have a party meeting in Canberra today to finalise new plans to tackle the rising cost of living but the PM dismissed suggestions it was a crisis meeting.
‘It’s not that – we’re having a normal meeting,’ he told the show.
‘We had a meeting last week as well. The papers do like to hyperventilate a little bit about these things.’
Just 18 months ago, the PM pledged to keep the tax cuts in full in a TV interview with Seven’s Spotlight (pictured) where he said his word was his bond
Radio 2GB’s Chris O’Keefe claimed on Monday afternoon that Mr Albanese will announce the revamp of his tax plans at the meeting.
Under the new Stage Three proposal, ‘all tax payers will still receive a tax cut,’ O’Keefe claimed.
Many lower and middle-income voters would be better off under the reported change. But ns who earn more than $180,000 will be the biggest losers, with their tax cut trimmed.
The claims come despite years of assurances – some as recent as last week – that Mr Albanese’s position on the tax cuts ‘had not changed’ since he promised to enforce them in full.
A government spokesperson reiterated to Daily Mail on Monday afternoon that its position ‘has not changed’.
But O’Keefe argued that the government’s ‘position’ has been about ‘reducing tax’ – rather than specifically keep the Stage Three cuts intact.
Under the new plans, lower income earners would instead reportedly receive more relief in an attempt to alleviate cost of living pressures on people who are most directly feeling the pain, O’Keefe said.
Under the old Stage Three proposal first introduced by the Coalition, ns who earned over $200,000 would receive the most tax relief – $9,075-per-year. That amount would be reduced.
The tax cuts in their current form would cost the government upwards of $300billion over the next decade. But the Morrison-era policy has not been without controversy.
Labor is having a party meeting in Canberra today to finalise new plans to tackle the rising cost of living but PM Anthony Albanese (pictured) dismissed suggestions it was a crisis meeting
Left-wing politicians and voters have demanded the government restructure the tax cuts in order to help middle and low income earners.
Meanwhile, the Opposition knows it could capitalise on Labor ‘breaking election promises’ if even the slightest changes were made to the policy.
Deputy Nationals leader Perin Davey confirmed as much on Monday afternoon, telling Sky News: ‘If that’s what the prime minister does, he will be breaking an election commitment.’
Former Deloitte economist Chris Richardson weighed in on the likelihood of changes on Monday afternoon, saying: ‘Stage 3… Canberra has suddenly gone very quiet, and my spider senses are tingling.’
Last week Mr Albanese called out an ABC presenter for playing ‘word games’ with him.
‘Nothing has changed, nothing has changed,’ he said. ‘We support reducing tax’.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers reportedly ‘tested the waters’ about the implications of changing the Stage Three tax cuts due to begin this year
He told an Adelaide radio station last week: ‘Tax cuts will happen in July. We’re committed to that… we haven’t changed our position.’
But at the same time, a report surfaced from Capital Brief which revealed Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ staff had, at the very least, ‘tested the waters’ about making changes to the policy.
The publication reported the Treasury denied a Freedom of Information Act request that sought ‘modelling, analysis, estimates or correspondence between the department and the (Albanese) government relating to the impact of amending stage three on tax receipts or the budget’.
Two separate government documents, crafted between October 2022 and October 2023, were reportedly identified as relevant to the Freedom of Information search.
But the request to release them was denied due to a potential to ‘prejudice to the effectiveness of the Treasurer’s decision-making and deliberative processes
While these documents do not indicate the government is currently considering changes to the taxation policy, they do suggest that the government has, at some stage, contemplated what tweaking the tax cuts could look like.
A spokesperson for the Treasurer told Daily Mail it is standard practice for the minister to be briefed on all aspects of the Budget and future changes.
‘It’s not unusual or controversial for the Treasurer to be updated on the costs of upcoming changes to the Budget,’ the spokesperson said.