Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks to the member for Bennelong for his important question and for all of his work. This government is cutting taxes for workers five times, in three different ways. We cut taxes in our first term, there's another tax cut in July and another one the July after that, and on Thursday we will introduce legislation to cut income taxes a fourth and a fifth time as well. That's because that legislation includes a thousand dollar instant deduction and also the Working Australians Tax Offset. Our tax cuts mean that an average worker could be up to $2,800 better off in the year that these tax cuts are implemented.

The legislation on Thursday includes those new tax cuts, and it includes the changes we are making to negative gearing and capital gains. This legislation is all about making it easier to own a first home, better aligning the tax treatment for workers and asset owners and also funding these tax cuts. The reason these four elements are all together is that the negative gearing and capital gains tax changes fund the tax cuts for workers and for small businesses. The package is broadly revenue neutral over the four years, and that's why these measures are all in together. By passing the core elements of the package quickly, we will give the market some certainty about the major changes while we consult on the implementation details flagged in the budget.

This is not unusual. The Howard government's GST reforms required more than 30 bills, and when it came to the capital gains tax changes in 1999—also around 30 bills. So this legislation on Thursday is a test for the coalition—

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