Rick Wilson (O'Connor, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

In the lead-up to the May election, the Morrison government had a plan set out in the budget that was carefully crafted to provide timely support to hardworking Australians. Since the election, we've successfully legislated our tax plan that will deliver more than $300 billion of tax relief over the next 10 years. That's what's happened. It includes long-term structural reform that abolishes an entire tax bracket and will see 94 per cent of taxpayers pay a marginal rate of no more than 30c in the dollar.

These tax reforms are the most significant in 20 years. Our tax relief plan will provide immediate support for 66,500 people living in my electorate of O'Connor. That's great news for workers and our local economy. When taxpayers keep more of what they earn, it encourages and rewards hard work. It means hardworking families can get ahead, and more money flows through our economy. Those earning between $48,000 and $94,000 will receive the full $1,080, and dual-income couples will receive up to $2,160. Australia-wide, around 4.5 million taxpayers will receive the full $1,080 tax offset. The offset tapers down to $255 for those earning between $22,000 and $48,000, and $135 for those earning between $94,000 and $120,000. Those earning under $21,000 pay no tax.

This extra boost will come in very handy for many families living and working in O'Connor—such as Goldfields couple Kate and Peter Kuusimaa, who have just welcomed their first child Tavi, and Kiara Torr, a mother from Albany who will be using her tax offset to pay her council rates. Our tax relief package provides a further $158 billion in tax relief, building on the already legislated personal income tax plan we announced in the 2018-19 budget. The government has also locked in the benefits for low- and middle-income tax relief by increasing the top threshold of 19c in the dollar bracket from $41,000 to $45,000 and by increasing the low income tax offset from $645 to $700 in 2022-23. In combination with the legislated removal of the 37c in the dollar tax bracket in 2024-25, the government is delivering structural reform to the tax system by reducing the 32.5c in the dollar tax rate to 30c in the dollar. Together these tax relief measures will create a flatter and better tax system that will improve incentives for those hardworking people in my electorate of O'Connor. It will also ensure that 94 per cent of Australians will face a marginal tax rate no higher than 30c in the dollar in 2024-25. I'm thrilled that our government has swiftly delivered on our promise to build a better tax system and provide tax relief in time for this year's tax return. The personal income tax measures announced in the last two budgets will together boost household incomes in aggregate across Australia by $8 billion per year. With these tax cuts targeted to lower- and middle-income Australians, who by necessity tend to have a higher spend, we expect to see a flowthrough into higher household consumption and a boost to the retail sector.

Deeming rates are also an issue that has been raised with me many times by seniors on pensions or part-pensions. We have listened to their concerns and now we have acted to support those older Australians who receive a part-pension. More than 6,100 people in O'Connor are set to benefit from a cut to deeming rates over the next four years. The lower deeming rate will decrease from 1.75 per cent to one per cent for financial investments up to $51,800 for single pensioners and $86,200 for pensioner couples. The upper deeming rate will be cut from 3.25 per cent to three per cent for balances above these amounts.

We have taken a sensible approach to supporting older Australians because we understand pensioners have fixed incomes. This means more money in the pockets of older Australians. Under the new rates, age pensioners whose income is now assessed using deeming will receive up to $40.50 a fortnight extra or $1,053 per year for couples and $31 a fortnight or $804 a year for singles. Changes to the deeming rate will also benefit people receiving other income-tested payments. These include the disability support pension and carer payments, income support allowance and supplements such as the parenting payment and Newstart.

We have previously reduced the tax burden on the engine room of our economy, the small business sector, turning over up to $50 million, by progressively reducing their tax rate from 30c to 25c in the dollar. I'm particularly proud that we've achieved these huge reductions in tax at the same time as forecasting the first budget surplus in 12 years. I'm confident the government's economic plan will help boost the economy in the many months ahead in my electorate of O'Connor. (Time expired)

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