Australia PM defends tax cuts in speech at 100 days in power

Bloomberg

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood by tax cuts estimated to cost the budget billions in revenue and promised his government would undertake “reform and renewal” in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Taking questions after a speech in Canberra on Monday to mark 100 days since he took the top job, Albanese defended his decision to keep the tax cuts, saying it was important for people and businesses to have “certainty.”
Albanese was pressed on whether he would reverse tax changes put in place by the previous government that would enact a single tax rate of 30% for those earning between A$45,000 ($30,850) and A$200,000 ($137,000). The changes are legislated to begin in 2024 and would cut revenue by hundreds of billions of dollars, according to the Parliamentary Budget Office.
“Of course we face real challenges. That’s a reality of the fiscal position, that we inherited a trillion dollars of debt. That remains something that we’re doing our best to deal with,” he responded in his comments at the National Press Club.
Since winning elections in May, Albanese’s government has focused on delivering on its campaign promises, including greater action on climate change, boosting Australia’s diplomatic footprint and growing workers’ wages.
Among the opportunities for future reform that Albanese mentioned were increased health and education funding, greater use of renewables and improving gender equality.
Albanese is bringing political, business and unions leaders together for a jobs and skills summit in Canberra starting from Thursday, which he is hoping will produce “immediate actions.”
“None of us imagine that a two-day summit will entirely fix wages and job security —or any of the other urgent economic challenges facing the country,” Albanese said.
Albanese said the government was working on an employment white paper, which would be partly informed by the outcomes of the summit this week.