Anthony Albanese’s demands for $158 billion tax cuts package

Anthony Albanese has offered to pass Scott Morrison’s $158 billion tax cuts for millions of Australians when parliament comes back — but there’s a catch.

Anthony Albanese has unveiled his demands for Labor’s support to pass Scott Morrison’s $158 billion tax cuts as a senior member of his team issues a warning to colleagues.

The Opposition leader today offered to pass stages one and two of Scott Morrison’s $158 billion tax cuts when parliament resumes next week if the Coalition will delay debate on the final phase of the reforms until late July.

Mr Albanese also revealed Labor would push for the second stage to be brought forward to this year at a cost of $3.7 billion to help stimulate the economy.

It would raise the threshold for the 37 per cent tax bracket from $90,000 to $120,000 from 2019-20, saving those workers $1350, he said.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has unveiled his demands for Labor’s support on Scott Morrison’s $158 billion tax cuts. Picture: Colin Murty/ The Australian

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Mr Albanese called for the government to split the bill and defer debate on stage three, which would drop the 32.5 per cent tax bracket to 30 per cent for 94 per cent of Australians from 2024 at a cost of $95 billion, until the next session of Parliament in late July.

He also called on the government to bring its infrastructure investment package forward to help stimulate the economy.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has already rejected Labor’s new proposal to split the tax bill.

We will not split our plan to deliver income tax relief to all working Australians.

Labor have still not learnt the lessons from the election.

— Mathias Cormann (@MathiasCormann) June 24, 2019

“We think that stage three at a cost of some $95 billion down the track, for an economy which is very soft at the moment, which no-one can say what the economy looks like in 2024-25, is really a triumph of hope over economic reality,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Melbourne.

“What we know right now is that the economy needs stimulus. And what we’re looking for here is solutions rather than arguments.”

The ultimatum comes after Mr Albanese held a meeting with his leadership team in Melbourne to decide Labor’s position on the tax cuts.

Earlier, Shadow Agriculture Minister Joel Fitzgibbon publicly warned his Labor colleagues they couldn’t deny Australians a tax cut from opposition.

“We can’t afford to give our political opponents the opportunity to blame us for a bad economy,” Mr Fitzgibbon told ABC radio.

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Joel Fitzgibbon has warned his Labor colleagues not to block the tax cuts. Picture: Chris Pavlich/ The Australian

“The only option then, if we are unable to force a decoupling, which should be our first objective, (is) to support the whole package or support none of it,” he said.

“The latter option would deny low and middle income earners much needed tax relief.”

The ALP has already signalled support for the first stage of tax cuts, which will deliver hip-pocket relief of up to $1080 for millions of low and middle income Australians.

Mr Fitzgibbon is the second Labor MP after Peter Khalil to publicly call for the party to back the full tax relief package, ramping up pressure on Mr Albanese one week before parliament resumes following the election.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will push Labor to back the tax cuts in a speech in Perth. Picture: AAP

Scott Morrison will continue to put pressure on the Opposition to back the plan today in his first major speech on home soil since being re-elected Prime Minister.

“It still baffles me why Labor can readily sign up to spending schemes that run for decades, yet cannot do the same to let Australians keep more of their own money,” Mr Morrison will say.

“Or to put it another way, almost 80 per cent of hard working Australians will keep more of what they earn following stages 2 and 3 of our tax plan.”

Mr Morrison will also unveil plans to slash bureaucratic red tape and a crackdown on unions in his speech to the WA Chamber of Commerce in Perth.

- with AAP