The Low and Middle Income Tax Offset (known as the LMITO or “lamington”) has been given yet another new lease of life.
What started in 2018 as a stop-gap until broader tax cuts were introduced, was extended because of COVID after the tax cuts were introduced in the 2020 budget and has now been extended again in 2021 to assist with the COVID recovery.
Which is odd, because, being a delayed payment (it is only paid out as tax refunds after the end of each financial year), it offers anything but real-time support.
And despite its name, it isn’t offered to Australians on very low incomes.
This isn’t a tax cut : Australian workers are set to cop a tax hike next year, as a fight begins to erupt over the government s stage 3 cuts Jack Derwin Looking under the hood of the government s tax cut shows it is anything but. (Eye Ubiquitous, Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Taxes are shaping up as a major election issue, with the Coalition and Labor looking to clash over stage three tax cuts.
It comes as tax experts accuse the government of wrongfully spinning this Federal Budget s one-time tax rebate, worth up to $1,080, as a proper tax cut.
Meanwhile, stage three tax cuts are set to begin in 2024, providing disproportionate relief to high-income earners.
Anthony Albanese must ‘come clean’ on tax agenda13/05/2021|4min
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says Anthony Albanese is the “cloud that hangs over lower taxes” and must decide whether he is on Bill Shorten’s “ticket of higher taxes” or with the prime minister’s plan.
The Morrison government’s budget featured an extension of the Low and Middle Income Tax Offset which would see those earning between $45,000 and $126,000 receiving $1,080 come tax time.
Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has yet to announce Labor’s tax policies despite his comments at the AFR summit in March where he said the party would wait until the budget to announce its agenda.
The Budget And The Stock Market
May 13 2021
The FY22 Budget continues the transition from crisis support to growth recovery and imbeds active policy support into key areas like aged care, and child care, plus a timely extension for tax incentives that allow current activity momentum to be sustained.
-Far more than expected additional fiscal stimulus of $96bn over 5 years
-Brokers believe conservative assumptions leave door open for further upgrades at mid-year
-Budget 2021 assumes a further delay to re-opening of the international border until mid-22
-Some policy initiatives – that add to the demand for housing – deemed inappropriate for the economic cycle
My Budget Verdict Image Source: Getty Images
I have been accused, at various times, of ‘shilling for the government’ and of ‘being a Labor stooge’.
Which means, on one reading, that absolutely nobody likes me at all!
That’s the cost of trying to be impartial, I guess and a reminder that social media thrives on confirmation bias and tends not to reward nuance.
Of course, on another reading, I hope that most of my readers consider that a good sign.
If I’m annoying the one-eyed supporters on both sides, I like to think that means I’m not slavishly swallowing the PR spin of either party.