Anthony Albanese in tense exchange over stage three tax cuts

The Prime Minister has doubled down on plans to keep a “highly discriminatory” scheme put in place by the Morrison government.

Anthony Albanese has sensationally declared it is not his “choice” whether to scrap a tax cut that would predominantly benefit the wealthiest Australians.

The Prime Minister is under pressure to dump the monster tax cuts which are set to cost $243 billion over the next decade.

But speaking to the ABC on Monday, Mr Albanese hit back at the criticism that keeping the cuts was a “choice” made by his government.

“No, no, no, no, no, that was made under the former government. We have made a choice about childcare,” he said when asked about decisions made about the budget make up.

“You’ve also made a choice to keep the previous government’s taxation policy,” host Patricia Karvelas quipped back.

Anthony Albanese has hit back at calls for stage three tax cuts to be scrapped. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

The Prime Minister has long-argued the government cannot “do everything we would like to” in the upcoming October budget, insteading focusing on its plan for greater childcare subsidies.

The stage three cuts create a flat tax rate of 30 cents in the dollar for anyone earning between $40,000 and $200,000. The top 45 per cent rate will kick in from $200,000.

Scrapping the changes could help the budget bottom line but it would break an election promise.

Labor originally opposed the cuts in the lead up to the 2019 election, but waved them through parliament after it was unable to secure amendments.

The Prime Minister said he can’t fund every good idea. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Men will overwhelmingly benefit from the cuts with the parliamentary budget office estimating they will take home nearly two-thirds of the benefits.

Critics of the tax cut say the money would be better spent funding initiatives such as increasing paid parental leave (PPL) to 26 weeks.

Mr Albanese said he would like to do more on PPL but given the state of the budget he can’t fund every good idea.

“I said before the election campaign that we would like to do more on that, it was something that we would consider, and which we will,” he told the ABC.

“We have a budget in October, and then we have another budget next May. We won't be doing everything that we would like to do in October.”

Sam Mostyn, chair of the Women’s Economic Equality Task Force, said the tax cuts were “highly discriminatory”.

“My suggestion is that we look at all these measures through that (gender) lens and probably get a restacking of how the tax cuts can work so that women actually receive the benefit of the cuts,” she said.