Harmless Budget Of Missed Opportunities
It has modest sweeteners, in the form of tax cuts, electricity rebates, cheaper medicines and incentives to increase bulk billing.
The tax cuts are well-targeted and cost-of-living measures are not inflationary.
There is nothing in the budget which should stand in the way of more interest rate cuts.
“To paraphrase Douglas Adams, this budget is mostly harmless,” said Greg Jericho, Chief Economist at The Australia Institute.
“The new tax cuts provide a welcome change from previous income tax cuts, which have mainly benefited high-income earners.
“On housing, the government has expanded the eligibility for its Help to Buy scheme. But this is a tiny scheme that makes little to no difference for the generation of Australians who can’t afford a home of their own. Expanding this scheme means it will continue to make little to no difference.
“The richest 10 percent of Australians will continue to collect $40 billion a year in superannuation tax concessions, negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, which drive up house prices.
“Gas companies will continue to avoid paying their fair share of tax. The Prime Minister has paused beer excise, but gas companies don’t need such measures. By 2028-29 twice as much will be collected from ordinary Australian beer drinkers than will be collected from PRRT, paid by rich, multinational oil and gas companies.
“It’s a huge fail for climate and the environment. Shamelessly, while passing legislation that will critically hurt the survival of the Maugean Skate, the government has allocated $2.4 million for a breeding program that is only to start in 2026-27. Talk about being a day late and a dollar short.”
https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/harmless-budget-of-missed-opportunities/