Australians have voted for the government to give them nice things but haven't decided how they will be paid for, Reserve Bank of Australia governor Glenn Stevens says.
Amid concerns about the possible dampening effects of income tax bracket creep on people's incentive to work, Mr Stevens told the House of Representatives economics committee the nation is yet to have a conversation about the right level of personal tax to pay for government services.
"We've all voted as voters for the government to give us good things. We have not actually voted for the funding," Mr Stevens said.
He said the funding gap was not "disastrous" and "we're not heading to hell any time soon" but the nation's political leaders had to engage with the community about the appropriate level of tax relief average income earners could expect.
