PM shares tax cuts for ‘an aged care worker or a cleaner earning $50,000’

Key points:

• The first and second stages of the tax changes were introduced by the Coalition Government in 2018 and 2019, with Labor set to deliver the third range of cuts following an election commitment to do so

• A recent survey of 6,500 older people found that cost-of-living was the most important issue, followed by private health and primary health care, according to National Seniors Australia Chief Executive Officer Chris Grice

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese delivered a proposal for cost-of-living relief among low- and middle-income Australians at the Labor Party room in Canberra on Wednesday, before sharing his vision with the National Press Club on January 25, 2024.

The PM said the Labor Government understood the financial burden that low- and middle-income earners were facing in the wake of increased inflation and interest rates, along with the policy changes they had made to provide relief.

“We’ve supported back-to-back increases in the minimum wage and we’ve delivered an historic 15 percent pay rise for aged care workers,” Prime Minister Albanese said.

“We’ve taken the gender pay gap to a record low and wages are growing at their fastest rate in almost 15 years — including two consecutive quarters of real wages growth.

He told the National Press Club that, as per his proposal, “Every woman taxpayer will get a tax cut and 90 percent will receive a bigger tax cut, under our plan.”

The PM said that the Coalition had planned to reverse these tax cuts and increase taxes on low- and middle-income taxpayers if they were elected in the next election and illustrated the savings that ‘middle Australia’ would receive as a result of the proposed cut.

“An early educator or an aged care worker or a cleaner earning $50,000, will receive a tax cut worth over $900 a year,” Albanese said.

“These tax cuts will provide meaningful help for parents returning to work, particularly women with young children.”

Responding to a journalist on Wednesday, January 24, before the cost-of-living caucus would convene later, Mr Albanese defended Labor’s commitment to the election promise to reduce household budget pressure.

“Now, I noticed our opponents have not waited to see any detail to see what the proposal is. They’re just against it like they’re against everything; like they were against cheaper child care and you’ll see some figures next week that show that policy has made a significant difference,” Prime Minister Albanese said.

“They were against the energy price relief plan that the Australian Bureau of Statistics says played a major role in the reduction of inflation, down to 4.3 percent, the monthly figures that were released most recently.

“They were against cheaper medicines that we have promoted. They’ve been against fee-free TAFE. They’ve just dismissed [sic], even though 300,000 Australians got to participate in TAFE last year to address skill shortages to make a difference.

“Now, they’re against whatever it is that’s put forward at a National Press Club. Angus Taylor said they’re against it. Well, what I say is that we will be doing the right thing for the right reasons — to assist middle Australia. That’s where I said very clearly my government would be focused and it is where we will be.”

Based on the previous legislation proposed by the then-Coalition Government, the third stage of tax cuts will be enacted on July 1, 2024.

Let the team at Talking Aged Care know your thoughts on the proposed plan and share your thoughts in the comments section about whether your salary compares to the $50,000 example.

If you are a taxpaying woman, do you feel that this proposal will give you relief from July 1 or has the cost-of-living crisis become unmanageable in Australia?

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