It would be a disservice to readers of The Australian Financial Review to devote an editorial to the income tax cuts Jim Chalmers announced in Tuesday’s budget.

The cuts are as fleeting as they are meaningless. They are worth just $10.30 a week to average earners and will be rendered worthless by the end of 2028, thanks to the inevitability of bracket creep, which forces workers to pay higher marginal rates of tax. And yet, even this most infinitesimal of sugar hits will cost the budget $17 billion over the next five years. It is the ultimate exemplar of the Albanese government’s insipid approach to taxation reform and fiscal responsibility, tied up in a pre-election row.