Simon Kennedy (Cook, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This government is addicted to spending. It's addicted to tax. Like any addiction, that comes with consequences—and I'm not talking about the Treasurer walking around, scratching himself, looking for some unrealised gains to tax. It's taxes and it's consequences for real, everyday Australians. For them, it's actually about how they pay their bills. How do they pay for their homes? How do they look after their families? What's Labor's solution? Tax more, spend more—rinse and repeat. This is a government that just can't say no—no to their spending habits, no to their taxes and no to taking more of your money. Since 2023, eight out of the last nine quarters have seen GDP per capita go backwards. What does that mean? That means the average Australian family has gotten poorer. It means your standard of living is going down. That is what has been delivered under this Albanese government.

Productivity has collapsed, down over five per cent. Real GDP per capita has fallen from 20th in the world to now into the 60s. Australia is plummeting, and our living standards are plummeting compared to all developed economies and the rest of our world peers. This isn't drift; this is decline. It's not a coincidence, it's not natural and it's not a predictable result. It's economic mismanagement from a treasurer who's more interested in writing essays and books than delivering economic outcomes.

Jim Chalmers promised to win the peace on superannuation. Instead, he's declared war on aspiration. The first big fight of this parliament is not about a tax on wealth; it's about a tax on imaginary wealth, a tax on gains that don't even exist except in the Treasurer's head—from assets that haven't been sold. It's absurd. But, more than that, it sets a dangerous precedent. If they're taxing unrealised gains right now in your super, what will be next? Will it be the family home, your business or any other asset you may own? Right now, it will only affect about 80,000 people. But, just like our income tax, this policy is not indexed. What does that mean? That means that, for almost half a million Australians sitting out there today, this tax is coming for you. This tax is designed to grow. It's a trojan horse. Australians won't know they've been caught until it's too late and they're caught in the jaws of this tax.

This isn't a government about making hard choices; this is a government about making lazy ones. Why do the hard work on productivity reform when you can just tax more, tax harder and tax more often? Why grow the pie when you can carve it up? Australia's highest marginal tax rate is now at 47 per cent, kicking in at $190,000. We heard from the member for Petrie, 'Income taxes are going down, and we've passed tax cuts.' But that ignores bracket creep, because in the last five years the number of people in this top tax bracket has almost doubled. It's grown to just under $500,000, and it'll soon breach over a million dollars. Everyday Australians are getting taxed more because this cost-of-living crisis sees inflation go up, which sees your wages go up—not as fast as expenses—but then leaves you paying more tax.

Economic experts warn that such marginal tax rates on relatively modest incomes discourage work, entrepreneurship and risk taking. Labor's so-called stage 3 tax cuts that we heard about just a moment ago—we pretend this is cost-of-living relief, but bracket creep is just ballooning and ballooning. Tax receipts will hit a record $349 billion, and almost 52 per cent of all tax revenue will come from individuals. What you do at work and what your husband or your wife does at work—you are funding this country. Actually, it's even worse than that. One dollar in every three produced in this economy finds its way into government hands. That's one in every three dollars. Don't take my word for it; listen to John Kehoe of the Financial Review. This is what he had to say recently:

… Australia relies on taxing personal income and corporate profits more than any other advanced economy while under-utilising consumption taxes, including the 10 per cent GST.

The same article reports that Professor Robert Breunig, a director of the ANU—that right-wing organisation—'said that the combination of a lack of fiscal restraint and an ever-increasing reliance on income tax was already a big problem and will get bigger in the future'. It certainly is, thanks to Dr Chalmers.

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