Topics: Labor’s broken promise on stage three tax cuts, Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison 

E&OE   

SHARRI MARKSON: 

The Sydney Morning Herald political editor David Crowe reports that Anthony Albanese's new reworking of the stage three tax cuts means that anyone earning over $150,000 will miss out. He reports that's 1 million Australians, 1 million Australians who will be affected by this broken promise. This reportedly went to Cabinet today and there's been a leak to the Herald. Let's bring in now for reaction Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor. Welcome to the program. So as you just heard, the government's expected to argue that those earning over $150,000 don't deserve a tax relief. What's your response to this? 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, the first and most important point, Sharri - thank you for having me on - is that this is the mother of all broken promises. This is the mother of all broken promises. Here's a Prime Minister and Treasurer who committed 100 times or more than 100 times between them to stick with these stage three tax cuts, as they're called these tax cuts. And it's clear now that he's going to break that promise, but worse, they've been to two elections. And this Prime Minister and Treasurer, both voted for these tax cuts. Now Australians have been expecting them to go through because they went into legislation, they're in law. They've gone to two elections, and both sides of politics supported them. And yet it is very clear this Prime Minister's word is worth nothing, Sharri, it is worth absolutely nothing. He has declared war on aspiration in this country. And I'll tell you what, if he's declared war on aspiration, every aspirational Australian should be worried about where he's going and what he's doing. 

SHARRI MARKSON: 

So just to go to the detail of what the Herald has put out there tonight, do you think people earning $150,000 are wealthy and don't deserve the legislative tax cut? 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, you know, first of all, I'm not going to get into the detail because I haven't seen it all. And frankly, the way this government is leaking things out to the press is chaotic, it's dysfunctional. And, you know, we just hit thought bubble after thought bubble... 

SHARRI MARKSON: 

This is a credible report by the Sydney Morning Herald's political editor, David Crowe, like do you think people earning over $150,000 deserve a tax cut? 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

You know, Sharri, I'll respond when this Prime Minister has the guts to stand up and say that he's declared war on aspirational Australians, because that's exactly what he's doing. Now, let me tell you, the thing about inflation and the cost of living crisis we're facing now, we've faced them before, and you don't get out of them by declaring war on aspiration. You don't get out of them by having a class war, and you certainly don't get out of them by breaking a promise that you've made alongside the Treasurer over 100 times Sharri. 

SHARRI MARKSON: 

I understand the broken promise argument, I spoke about it at length at the start of the show. They have broken their promise. I said the same thing. But what I'm asking you is do you think the stage three tax cuts should go ahead for people earning over $150,000? 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

All of the stage three tax cuts, as per the stage two and stage one tax cuts, should go ahead because they've gone to elections, both sides of politics have supported them. The Prime Minister and Treasurer have said that they're going to support them, and they should go ahead and this Prime Minister, if he's not going ahead with them, it means his word means absolutely nothing, Sharri, absolutely nothing. Now, let me tell you, as I said, you beat inflation, because aspirational Australians get out there and build the economy, build a strong, fast growing economy, that's low inflation. That's how you do it. That's how we got out of it in the 70s and 80s. We had to bring down taxes to get out of inflation in the 70s and 80s. We remember those, I remember those reforms, extremely well. You need to give people the incentive to aspire. And those aspirational people they don't just do good for themselves. They build businesses, they employ people, they invest, they take risks. You take that aspiration out of the economy, you do not beat inflation. You do not get out of the quagmire we're in right now, where the economy is not growing Sharri, it's not growing. 

SHARRI MARKSON: 

The reworked stage three tax cuts, you know, announced by the Herald tonight, announced by the Albanese government, went to cabinet this afternoon reportedly. The government is saying that people on $150,000 and over a wealthy. Do you think that's the case? 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Well, you know what, there's going to be a lot of people going over that $150,000 tax bracket in the coming years. Given the rate at which inflation is going we're seeing a growing number of people being pushed up into higher tax brackets. That's what bracket creep does. And that's exactly what the state's three tax cuts are all about. Now, you know, the way the government will try to position this is the economy is a pie. And you can just chop it up into pieces and hand it out in different ways. It doesn't work like that, Sharri. If you take away the incentive for Australians to have a crack, to make investments, to take risks, to build their careers, to build businesses, you take away those incentives, then you undermine the strength of the economy. And you do not get to where we need to get, which is a low inflation, strong economy. You know, this is a Prime Minister who doesn't understand economics. You've got a treasurer, who is a doctor of spin. He's not a Doctor of Economics. He runs around saying he's Dr Chalmers. Well, he's a doctor of spin, let's be clear about it. And they do not understand that if you take away the incentive for Australians to have a crack, you're not going to have that strong, low inflation economy we all desperately want right now. At a time when we've seen a real standard of living of Australians, their real disposable incomes fall faster than almost any other advanced country in the world. 

SHARRI MARKSON: 

Yep. All right. This is going to be a major story tomorrow. Mr. Taylor, just before you go, Scott Morrison's time in politics is about to finish. We've just broken the news tonight, that he's going to be working with the former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in His next role. He's also going to be joining a firm that works with the former Donald Trump National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien. Do you think these relationships will help Australia? Should Donald Trump get back into office? 

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

What can I say good on Scott Morrison. I think he's left an important legacy - AUKUS, tax reform which Labor's trying to undermine right now, what he did in stopping the boats, getting us through, obviously, incredibly difficult time in COVID. And I wish him all the best with his new role. I only know what you've just told me now, Sharri, but I think it will be good. I mean, I think our relationship with the United States is enormously important. And I think anything we can do to strengthen those ties is always good for Australia. I certainly hope he'll do that. I think he will, he'll continue to make a contribution in the future as he has in the past. 

SHARRI MARKSON: 

Alright, Angus Taylor, thank you so much for joining me tonight.  

ANGUS TAYLOR: 

Thanks for having me Sharri. 

ENDS.