Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is reportedly considering a significant overhaul of the promised Stage Three tax cuts, a radio host has claimed.
Mr Albanese called an urgent meeting of the Labor caucus in Canberra this week to discuss a new cost of living package.
Radio 2GB’s Chris O’Keefe claimed on Monday afternoon that Mr Albanese will announce a revamp to 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 in tact.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is reportedly planning to overhaul the promised Stage Three tax cuts , a radio host has claimed
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.
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.’
While the PM has repeatedly said his position on the tax cuts had not changed, he’s come under increased scrutiny over recent months as speculation mounted that change could be afoot.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers reportedly ‘tested the waters’ about the implications of changing the Stage Three tax cuts due to begin this year
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’.
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.