Federal Budget 2017: Welfare accounts for 86 per cent of all personal income tax

THE astonishing cost to every taxpayer for the nation’s ballooning welfare bill has been revealed. And the Treasurer has warned of “tough choices” ahead.

Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison has signalled a tax hike to pay for the ever-increasing welfare bill.

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NEARLY 90 per cent of personal income tax paid by Australians is used to fund the nation’s ballooning annual $155 billion welfare bill.

The shocking statistic, which can be exclusively revealed by The Courier-Mail, comes as the Turnbull Government faces siphoning even more taxpayer cash to prop up the handouts because Labor and an obstructionist Senate are refusing to back Government welfare cuts.

In an exclusive interview with The Courier-Mail, Treasurer Scott Morrison said the impasse was leaving tough choices in the lead-up to May’s Budget.

He implied the Government could be forced to raise taxes to pay for welfare recipients, because current debt levels were unsustainable.

The Courier-Mail understands 86 per cent of personal income tax is paying for the welfare bill, and there are fears it will increase.

Mr Morrison said it was unfair to keep running up the welfare bill, and wanted Australians to know “Labor needs to be held to account”.

“Eight out of 10 taxpayers go to work every day to fund the welfare bill,’’ Mr Morrison said.

The Government linked its Jobs For Families childcare package to reductions to family tax benefits and extra money for the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Labor, Nick Xenophon and his two senators are refusing to pass the Bill, which is yet to hit the Senate. Because of the numbers in the Senate, it is unlikely to pass.

In Parliament yesterday, Opposition families spokeswoman Jenny Macklin asked: “Why is the Prime Minister choosing to harm 1.5 million Australian families and threaten the National Disability Insurance Scheme instead of scrapping his $50 billion handout to big business (through the Government’s company tax cuts)?”

Mr Turnbull hit back, saying: “You cannot keep on borrowing your way into the future … I wish the honourable members opposite would show one-tenth of the compassion they talk about all the time for the generations to come.”

Originally published as Federal Budget 2017: Welfare accounts for 86 per cent of all personal income tax