‘Arrogant’ Labor not listening to voters’ concerns: Frydenberg

The Treasurer says Chris Bowen was “arrogant” in declaring critics of Labor’s franking credits crackdown could “vote against us”.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Picture: AAP

Josh Frydenberg has attacked opposition Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen as “arrogant” for saying retirees who don’t like Labor’s dividend imputation crackdown are “entitled to vote against us”.

The Treasurer said Labor was not listening to the concerns of self-funded retirees who would lose income under Labor’s plans to axe cash refunds for franking credits.

“Labor has arrogantly told over one million Australians to vote against Labor,” Mr Frydenberg said.

“What they have failed to do is to listen to their concerns, their deep concerns that we are hearing and seeing from Australians all around the country.

“People who have simply saved for their own retirement, people who are not necessarily rich.

“People who have taken personal responsibility to save for their retirement. Australians’ retirement savings should be protected, not raided, as Labor is promising to do.”

Opposition Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen. Picture: Kym Smith

Mr Bowen this morning batted back a case study from an ABC radio listener, who complained Labor planned to cut their income by $5000 but give a tax cut on people earning $125,000.

“I earn less that half that for my super in shares,” the listener said.

Mr Bowen responded by asking people to imagine a system where “every shareholder in the country was a retired person who did not pay income tax and we refunded all the company tax”.

Mr Bowen said the Commonwealth spent more on cash refunds for franking credits than on public schools and the Australian Federal Police.

“I say to your listener: if they feel very strongly about this, if they feel that this is something which should impact on their vote they are of course perfectly entitled to vote against us,” Mr Bowen said.

“We’ve had the courage to tell them our plans unlike the Liberals who … tried to put up (the) Medicare levy without getting a mandate to engage in all sorts of tax rises without bothering to tell the Australian people before an election.

“What we’re doing is being been very clear about our plans.”

The Treasurer described Mr Bowen’s claim that the cash refund scheme cost taxpayers almost as much as was spent by the Commonwealth on schools as a “mistruth”.

“Labor seeks to distract from their destructive retirees tax by trying to mislead voters by equating the amount spent on cash refunds for franking credits with Commonwealth school funding when the truth is that Labor’s retirees tax on their own numbers raises $55 billion over the decade while government spending on schools is over $307 billion for the same period. It’s no comparison and another inconvenient truth for Labor.”