Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Earlier today I had a meeting with the Treasurer, and we discussed the personal income tax relief this government has just delivered for hardworking Australians. We talked about what the tax relief really means in practice for people in Brisbane and how the tax relief is being rolled out year to year over the course of the government's plan. It's fair to say that I'm proud to be part of the government that's delivering this tax relief. We delivered it last year, firstly, for the 30,000 small and medium businesses that are the very base and the foundation of our local economy in Brisbane. Our local Brisbane economy is built by the upcoming professional firms, the award-winning microbreweries, the coffee roasters, the technology developers, the small start-ups and just everyday working family businesses. Now, we're delivering tax relief for the individuals and families around Brisbane who are working hard to realise their dreams.

I told the Treasurer that 75,000 people in my electorate of Brisbane will benefit from the tax relief, some as early as 1 July—next week. The Treasurer and I talked about how this tax relief is going, first and foremost, to help to relieve the household budget pressures being faced by middle- and lower income earners. The tax offset that low- and medium-income earners in Brisbane will receive will be up to $530 per year from 2018-19, and that means up to $1,060 for a family where both members of the couple are working. So step one of our Personal Income Tax Plan ensures that these lower and middle-income earners, these hardworking Australians who deserve it most, get relief in their household budgets.

Step two of government's plan reduces bracket creep. We believe that Australians should not face these disincentives from higher tax rates just for taking on an extra shift or pushing for a very well deserved pay rise, or even just through inflation pushing them into higher and higher tax brackets over time. Under the government's plan, the $87,000 tax threshold will go to $90,000 from next year and then eventually to $120,000 in 2022-23. Then, from 1 July 2022, we'll increase the low-income tax offset to $645. That will prevent about half a million Australians across the nation from paying tax at the 32.5 per cent marginal tax rate in 2022-23. This means that, for instance, Brisbane nurses and paramedics can take those extra shifts without fear of facing higher tax rates.

Step three of the plan then removes the 37 per cent tax bracket entirely, commencing in 2024-25. At that point, the government's plan all comes together and the value of the reform is fully realised, because it's at that point that the tax system will be simpler for the vast bulk of workers. About 94 per cent of them, all up—so more than nine in 10 workers—will pay no more than 32.5 cents in every extra dollar they earn. Tradies and teachers in Brisbane, for example, will thereafter not have to worry about facing higher tax rates for taking on an additional shift or seeking that well-deserved pay rise.

In closing, I want to say one thing about Australian fairness under this three-step plan being delivered by the government. By the end of this plan, every taxpayer around Australia will be paying less tax—all of them. At the same time, the highest income earners—that's the top six per cent of Australians who are in that highest tax bracket over $200,000—will be paying 36 per cent of the total tax collected. So six per cent of the population will be paying 36 per cent of the total tax take. That 36 per cent is a higher proportion than the top tax-rate payers presently pay. That's what fairness in Australia looks like.

No-one should buy into any class war that those on the other side are trying to whip up. The bottom line is that under Labor you will always pay more tax. Those opposite, sadly, will always spend more and tax more. At this point in time they are promising $200 billion in additional taxes—and who knows how high the number will go—presumably because they think they know how to spend your money better than you do. As I said to the Treasurer, the income earned by the workers of Brisbane is their money. They earned it through their hard work. This is about empowering people to aspire, to work hard and to have every possible opportunity to realise their dreams.