Today Treasury has belled the cat on the Governments secrecy when it comes to the breakdown of the fiscal costs of the their income tax plan.
When asked at an Economics Senate Estimates hearing this morning about whether there was year-by-year data on the fiscal costs of the Governments income tax plan, the Treasury confirmed the data exists but that due to heightened uncertainty around medium term figures they did not want to release them.
LABOR SENATOR JENNY MCALLISTER: But you have them [the year on year projections], you are choosing not to release them for the reasons you have explained?
DEPUTY SECRETARY: Yes, thats correct.
SECRETARY: Thats correct.
The revelation today that Treasury will not release figures surrounding the Governments plan mean two possible things:
- the numbers are so unreliable that Labor should not rely on them to make decisions about the governments tax cuts that come into force in 6 years time; or
- the government is deliberately politicising the Treasury and running interference of gaining more transparency of the Governments tax cut
Three weeks today the Government released its income tax plan, but since then has engaged in a war of secrecy about the fiscal impacts of their plan beyond the forward estimates in the budget.
Labor has rightly called for the year-by-year costs of the Governments package given that the largest and costliest elements of the package come into force over the medium term.
Treasury highlights the heightened uncertainty with figures over the medium term, yet the Government wants Labor to sign up to expensive tax cuts that come into force in 6 years time when economic conditions are unknown.
What we do know from Treasury analysis today is that when it comes to stage 3 of the governments tax cuts, the entire $42 billion accrues to the top 20% income earners, which justifies concern about this element of the tax plan.
When it comes to stage 3 of the Governments plan, it would appear the Government is on an ideological frolic, not focused on delivering tax relief to middle income earners.
If the Government wants the Senate to seriously consider its tax cuts, it should stop the interference, stop the politicisation of Treasury and cough up the detail which we know exists.
