Greens MP Adam Bandt has suggested his party will only support tax cuts specifically targeted at very low income earners and might block Labor’s proposed cuts.
The government has introduced its seven-year income tax plan into parliament, while Labor has proposed a separate proposal which offers cuts to low and middle income workers — the Greens won’t be supporting any income tax reductions.
The income tax cut plan worth $140 billion over a decade was the centrepiece of this month’s federal budget and will start with a reduction of up to $530 for low and middle-income earners.
.@AdamBandt on tax cuts: We need services, not tax cuts. If we keep having this tax cuts arms race every election we are going to find that we don’t have the money to fund the services that Australians expect.
MORE: https://t.co/ykweMevBOK #Speers pic.twitter.com/YqzChDyJCP
— News24 Australia (@News24Aust) May 19, 2018
Bandt, says services like education and health care, should come first.
“The Greens think we need services not tax cuts. If we keep having this tax cut arms race every election we’re going to find that we don’t have the money to fund the services that Australian expect,” he told Sky News.
Bandt said, however, it was willing to look at proposals which specifically target very low wage earners.
“We think there’s very good ways of looking after people on low incomes we need to have a look at the minimum wage we need to have a look at lifting New Start.
“If there is a proposal on that table that’s targeted only at low income workers then of course we’ll have a look at that.”
Bandt attacked the government and the opposition for attempting to “redefine” low wage earners in the tax cuts and said he did not think earning $110,000 or $120,000 a year could be classified as lowly paid.
Meanwhile, senior opposition frontbencher Anthony Albanese told ABC television on Sunday: “We have a larger tax cut offset we will be arguing for … more than $900 as opposed to little bit over $500”.
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