Australian govt seeks to woo voters with surprise tax cuts

SYDNEY: Australia’s government launched fresh tax cuts on Tuesday and announced other cost-of-living relief in a major push to win back disgruntled voters, tipping the budget back into the red.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s centre-left government is seeking to win a second term in a May election and is running neck-and-neck in the polls against the conservative Coalition opposition. Treasurer Jim Chalmers in his fourth budget also unveiled new efforts to boost economic resilience and competitiveness, acknowledging heightened new global risks from trade wars as well as geopolitical tensions.

“This budget is really a platform for prosperity in a new world of uncertainty,” Chalmers said in a press briefing. “It recognises the cost of living pressures are front of mind for many Australians.”

In keeping with the practice of recent years, most of the measures announced in the budget had already been flagged. However, the two new rounds of tax cuts, worth A$17.1 billion ($10.7 billion), came mostly as a surprise and build on those introduced last year.

Through cutting the lowest tax bracket, a worker on average earnings will get a new tax cut of A$268 in the fiscal year ending June 2027 and A$536 in the following fiscal year, more modest than the A$1,654 relief in the tax cuts introduced this fiscal year.

The budget also features an A$8.5 billion investment in public healthcare. It will also extend electricity rebates until the end of the year, roll out funding for public schools and cut student debt.