Andrew Leigh Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer
4:12 pm
Mr Deputy Speaker, I wish to make a personal explanation.
Mark Coulton Parkes, National Party
Does the honourable member claim to have been misrepresented?
Andrew Leigh Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer
Yes.
Andrew Leigh Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer
In question time today the Prime Minister said that he was sure that I would agree that Australia has very high personal income tax rates on high-income earners. This is not correct. The best comparison of personal income tax rates comes from the OECD's 2015 statistics, which show that Australia's top marginal income tax rate in 2015 was 12th of 34 countries. But this rate cuts in at a fairly high threshold, and if one is to look at the rate on someone earning 167 per cent—
Mr Fletcher interjecting—
Mark Coulton Parkes, National Party
The member for Fenner needs to go to the point where he was misrepresented, not to make a speech.
Andrew Leigh Fenner, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer
I am not; I am simply explaining why I would not agree with the Prime Minister's statement. Tax rates on someone earning 167 per cent of average earnings mark us 13th of 34 countries in the OECD. Australia does not have extremely high personal income tax rates. The Prime Minister is wrong when he says that I would agree with that statement.