Middle-income earners will soon spend six months of the year working for the federal government as tax rates near 50¢ in the dollar, Treasurer Joe Hockey said, as he prepares to kick off this year’s tax reform debate.

The treasurer, who will release of the first stage of the tax white paper before parliament resumes on February 9, said he feared that bracket creep, where inflation pushes people into higher tax rates, would put people off working.