Finance Minister Mathias Cormann confirms debt tax, but Tony Abbott won’t

FINANCE Minister Mathias Cormann has all but confirmed a debt tax is in the Budget, as Tony Abbott refuses to, saying “we’re all in this together”.

Facing backlash ... Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks to the media today. Picture: Stefan Postles/Getty Images

“WE are all in this together.”

That’s what Tony Abbott wants to say to Australians when he looks them in the eye after next Tuesday’s Budget.

But today the Prime Minister is refusing to do the same and tell voters whether or not they will cop a deficit tax.

“No-one ever said that it was going to be easy to tackle Labor’s debt and deficit disaster but we were elected to get the Budget back under control,” Mr Abbott told reporters in Parliament House this afternoon.

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The government will honour the commitment to repair the budget, he said, but in ways that are fair.

“I’m going to be able to look people in the eye on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning and beyond and say we are all in this together, we are all doing our bit,” the PM declared.

“We are all playing a part in the fiscal repair job that Australia needs if we are going to build our prosperity, build our strength as a nation in the years and decades to come.”

The Debtinator ... Minister for Finance Senator Mathias Cormann during a press conference today. Picture: Gary Ramage

As he was addressing reporters in one part of Parliament House, his Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was going further at a separate media conference.

“An immediate special effort” is needed, he said, all but confirming a temporary levy will be part of next Tuesday’s Budget.

Senator Cormann said the only way to spread the weight of the Budget repair job fairly was to look at “appropriately targeted measures through the tax system” for higher income earners.

“Let me assure you and be very clear that any special effort before structural reforms and structural savings kick in will truly be temporary,” he said.

Facing backlash ... Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks to the media today. Picture: Stefan Postles/Getty Images

Senator Cormann said he realised no one, including his Coalition colleagues, liked tax hikes, but appealed for voters and MPs to “trust us”.

“We are doing this for the right reasons,” he said.

“We’re not doing any of this for fun, we’re not doing this because it gives us any pleasure,” Senator Cormann said.

Cabinet sat down today to nut out the final details on the Abbott Government’s first Budget, as Coalition backbenchers publicly voiced their concerns about the levy.

Liberal MPs Teresa Gambaro and Cory Bernardi have called on the government to dump any tax hike.

Senator Cormann said the cabinet was listening “very carefully” to coalition colleagues but asked them to trust the decision makers.

Originally published as Finance Minister Mathias Cormann confirms debt tax, but Tony Abbott won’t