SHORTEN’S BUDGET REPLY TO DRAW LINE IN CLASS WAR
BILL Shorten will target millions of low income earners with tax relief, mounting a pre-election assault on the government to declare Scott Morrison’s tax cuts do not go far enough.
In a pitch for the nation’s battlers, the Opposition Leader has declared Labor is “the party for working mums and families” and will tonight confirm in his Budget reply speech that 2.9 million taxpayers earning less than $40,000 a year will pay less taxes under his government.
Crucially, 57 per cent of these workers are women – a demographic Mr Morrison and the Coalition want to shore up ahead of the election.
Labor will argue that the government is unfairly taxing low-earning working mums by failing to provide them the same boost to tax relief as higher earners in Tuesday’s Budget.
“Make no mistake, this is a Liberal pArty tax on working mums. Families are already dealing with cuts to child care and no funding certainty for kindergarten under the Liberals, the last thing they need is higher taxes,” Mr Shorten said. “Whether it’s lower taxes, better super or universal preschool, Labor is the party for working mums and working families.”
As Mr Shorten lays groundwork to fight for a generation of battlers, he also will use tonight’s Budget reply speech as a launch pad to fight his election campaign on Medicare – the same tactic that almost delivered him The Lodge in 2016.
The centrepiece of Mr Shorten’s speech will be a major health announcement.
Labor has already laid the foundations for this with Mr Shorten saying last month: “Medicare was at the top of my plan in the last election and this election will be no different.”
Labor led its assault on the government’s Budget yesterday saying the celebrated tax cuts did nothing extra to help families earning under $40,000.
The government promised 10 million workers tax cuts from July 1, but those earning under $40,000 get better rebates on Labor’s proposed plans.
This fight over tax has set the scene for a dramatic class war campaign. The Labor push to help low income earners comes despite the fact that the party intends to raise the top marginal tax rate to 49 per cent – one of the highest in the world.