What we know so far about the 2018 Federal Budget

THE next federal Budget sounds like it will be a generous one. Here’s what to expect tonight.

AUSTRALIANS on low and middle-incomes are set to receive tax cuts of about $10 a week in tonight’s Federal Budget, it has emerged.

Treasurer Scott Morrison dismissed expectations of an overly generous Federal Budget, telling the nation not to expect “mammoth” tax cuts.

“I’m not going to pretend these would be mammoth tax cuts,” Mr Morrison said on Sunday.

“They will be what is affordable, they will be real and they will be within what the budget can afford.”

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said Australians in the higher tax brackets would be waiting a bit longer on a tax cut.

“What I can say to you is that we will be prioritising low and middle-income earners in the first instance, but there will be a phased approach moving forward,” he told Sky News.

“We do recognise that high-income earners are carrying a very significant tax burden in our economy today.”

A budget surplus has been forecast by mid-2021, which, if achieved, would be the first since before the 2008-2009 Global Financial Crisis.

Here’s what we know so far about the tonight’s Budget.

NO MORE MEDICARE LEVY HIKE

The Medicare levy will remain as is with both the Turnbull government and Labor walking away from a hike to fund the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Treasurer Scott Morrison has confirmed the extra 0.5 per cent increase from next year is no longer needed thanks to better than expected revenue, despite it being a key measure of the 2017 federal budget.

Mr Morrison said tax receipts up until February were expected to have run $4.8 billion higher than estimated in December and therefore the increase wasn’t needed. “As we prepared the budget it was clear that we no longer had to do this and so I’m pleased as punch that we don’t,” he told the Nine Network.

The government insisted it was still absolutely committed to the NDIS. “We will fully, absolutely, look you in the eye and say that funding for NDIS is there and you’ll see that in the budget,” Mr Morrison told ABC radio. “It’s guaranteed because of the stronger economy we are delivering.”

A RECORD SPEND ON INFRASTRUCTURE

No state or territory will be left out of the early Christmas splurge, according to Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack, and the focus will be on infrastructure.

He told The Daily Telegraph there would be a “record spend” for road and rail projects, and it would be more than the $75 billion allocated last financial year.

“There’s going to be some exciting projects elsewhere that have been called upon for many years that will be realised by this budget. We want people to cheer this budget home,” he said.

However, Mr Morrison has said his biggest single infrastructure announcement had already been made public — $5 billion for a rail link from Melbourne Airport to the CBD.

The pledge has put pressure on Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to also contribute $5 billion to fund the rest of the project.

According to the Courier Mail, Queensland will receive a number of goodies including a $3.3 billion upgrade for the Bruce Highway, $1.5 billion for northern Australian strategic roads, $1 billion for the M1 Pacific Highway and $300 million for the Brisbane Metro project.

RELATED: Mega infrastructure projects that could get Budget funding

Melbourne travellers may finally be able to stop taking the bus to the airport. Picture: David Crosling/AAP

BILLIONS FOR BABY BOOMERS

The government hasprepared a multibillion-dollar aged-care and retirees package including 20,000 extra home-care places to enable the elderly to stay in their houses longer and incentives for retirees to start businesses, The Australian revealed.

More than 100,000 elderly Australians are on the waiting list for home-care places.

The package is also set to expand the Work Bonus program, which allows seniors to earn $250 a fortnight without affecting their pension, and the Pension Loans Scheme, which allows self-funded retirees to borrow against the value of their home.

SUPER START FOR THE YOUNG

There will be some tweaking of superannuation rules to help young people get started, and consolidate super accounts and recoup any that is lost, the Australian Financial Review reports.

The increase in superannuation guarantee to 12 per cent is expected to be delayed until July 1, 2025.

CRACKDOWN ON ILLICIT TOBACCO

A tobacco taskforce will be set up to crack down on the illicit trade and raise $3.6 billion in revenue over four years.

The budget will include new powers for the Australian Taxation Office to charge duties and a requirement to obtain a permit to import tobacco.

It will also work to close down illegal tobacco crops known as “chop chop”.

“We know that the illegal tobacco market is dominated by criminal syndicates and these criminal syndicates use the funds they gain through illegal tobacco to fund their other illegal activities,” Financial Services Minister Kelly O’Dwyer told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

“The government wants to shut down these illegal criminal syndicates.”

RECORD SPENDING ON BARRIER REEF

The federal government will deliver the single largest investment in the Great Barrier Reef in Australian history on May 8, but conservationists say not enough is being done to address climate change.

Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop pledged $500 million to help restore and protect the reef. Mr Frydenberg said some of it would be funnelled directly to farmers to enable them to modify their practices and reduce the amount of sediment run-off. The money will also go towards improving water quality, tackling the crown-of- thorns starfish and scientific research.

But Labor, the Australian Marine Conservation Society and 350.org have all criticised the government over its failure to address climate change, the biggest threat to the Great Barrier Reef.

The federal government will deliver the single largest investment in the Great Barrier Reef in Australian history tomorrow night.

WE’LL GET SOME PERSONAL TAX CUTS

The government has flagged the May 8 budget will likely include personal income tax cuts.

“What we will be doing is delivering medium income tax relief as soon as we can and we’ve got a Budget this year and I’ll have more to say about that between now and the Budget and beyond,” Mr Morrison told Radio National in January.

“But personal tax cuts for middle-income Australians will certainly be realised under a Coalition government long before any big company gets a corporate tax cut.”

But not everyone thinks they are a good idea.

When asked whether they were a good thing, economist Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics told ABC television.

“No, I don’t think personal tax cuts are needed from the viewpoint of the economy. The economy is going absolutely fine,” he said.

“They are needed, if you like, from the viewpoint of politics.”

DEBT WILL BE PAID

Mr McCormack also indicated the federal government would pay off its massive debt by 2021.

“(Mr Morrison’s) looking forward, as he says, to producing a fiscally responsible budget. He’s looking forward to getting this nation back on track, so that by 2021 we’ve paid down Labor’s debt,” he told reporters in Mildura.

Debt stands at $523 billion. The government has targeted 2021 for turning the budget deficit into a surplus.

For this financial year, a deficit of $23.6 billion has been forecast, although the government’s most recent monthly financial statement suggests the budget is running about $8 billion better off than forecast.

FREE WHOOPING COUGH JAB FOR PREGNANT MUMS

All pregnant women in Australia will have access to a free whooping cough vaccination from July, with the vaccine to be added to the national immunisation program at a cost of $39.5 million.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said as newborns could not be vaccinated until six weeks of age, the most effective way to protect a baby against the disease was for the mother to have the vaccine.

The government will also roll out a national public education campaign about the whooping cough vaccine.

All pregnant women in Australia will have access to a free whooping cough vaccination from July.

THEY STILL WANT COMPANY TAX CUTS

The government is still keen to give tax cuts to large companies and are also refusing to exclude banks from getting them.

But it doesn’t have enough support to get the cuts passed in parliament.

So far, only firms with a turnover of up to $50 million will receive incremental tax cuts over the next decade from 30 per cent to 25 per cent.

The government delayed putting the remainder of the legislation to the vote in the Senate just before Easter when it became clear it didn’t have sufficient numbers from the crossbench to pass it.

SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY DRUG PRICE SLASHED

Sufferers of spinal muscular atrophy will have access to a life-saving drug for a fraction of the cost.

Spinraza will be made available on the PBS from June 1 this year for all patients under 18, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced on Sunday.

It would have cost more than $367,850 a year for the medicine but it will now be $39.50 per script with concessional patients paying $6.40.

The medicine works by slowing progression of the disease and can significantly improve motor function.

MORE FUNDING FOR LIFELINE

Mental health service Lifeline is being given a $33.8 million cash injection to boost its 24-hour telephone service.

The funding will help the charity answer more calls and support the training of staff.

“Sometimes it’s hard to reach out for help but during times of need Australians should know someone will be available to hear their concerns and offer them help,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday.

The government says the funding forms part of $4.2 billion dollars invested into mental health services this year.

Lifeline offers support and information about suicide prevention. Contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.