Peter Dutton $1200 tax offset a blatant bribe that may just work, writes Angira Bharadwaj
Peter Dutton’s $1200 “cost of living tax offset” is about as blatant as you can get about buying support from struggling middle Australians, writes Angira Bharadwaj.
Analysis
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Giving lower and middle income earners up to $1200 off their tax and labelling it a “cost of living tax offset” is about as blatant as you can get about buying support from struggling middle Australians.
But many could forgive Peter Dutton for pulling out all the stops to one-up Labor’s $5 a week tax cuts by offering five times more plus cheaper petrol.
Dutton’s boldest policy yet will target key mortgage belt electorates including Werriwa and Watson in NSW, Boothby in South Australia, and Aston and McEwen in Victoria.
In Bennelong, a once-guaranteed win for the Liberals thanks to a 0.04 per cent margin to Labor, nearly 24 per cent of mortgaged households are at risk of housing stress.
A $25 a week tax saving could cut through even when Liberal candidate Scott Yung has copped a spate of bad publicity in recent days.
The cuts will also matter in Victorian seats like Chisholm, where 23 per cent of mortgaged households are at risk of housing stress, and Aston where 30.5 per cent of renter households are under stress.
Poll after poll has maintained that cost of living pressures remained the number one issue on voters’ minds — well ahead of defence, community safety, economic management and climate change.
The Coalition has tried to sell itself as the best managers of the economy but when voters in outer suburban Sydney and Melbourne — NSW and Victoria have the most key seats this election — are struggling to pay off their mortgage or rent, and with no second rate cut in sight before the election, they care more about their family budget than the federal budget deficit.
With a pre-election sweetener handed out just nine days before early voting begins, Liberals would be hopeful this policy change pays off.
The commitment is also big enough to overshadow Labor’s launch day announcement of $10bn to build up to 100,000 new homes exclusively for first time buyers.
The policy is ambitious but leaves Labor open to criticism because they are already lagging on their existing targets.
Both sides will launch their campaigns today with plenty of star power to back the big commitments, proving this week will be crucial in deciding their fortunes on May 3.
Originally published as Peter Dutton $1200 tax offset a blatant bribe that may just work, writes Angira Bharadwaj
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