Labor will promise a bigger budget surplus than the coalition instead of further tax cuts for middle income earners, to promote its economic management credentials.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age report the opposition had been considering a last-minute tax reform package for workers earning between $90,000 and $120,000.
But instead, Labor has decided to focus on the budget bottom line, which it believes will allow it to "burn" the coalition over the question of budget responsibility
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten did not confirm or deny the decision when asked about it on Thursday.
He instead ramped up his attack on cuts to services Labor believes the coalition would need to make to fund the later stages of its tax cut plan.
"This government is addicted to cuts," he told reporters in Darwin.
Labor has vowed to match the government's tax cuts for people earning up to $125,000 in its first term if it wins the election, and offer more tax relief to lower-income earners.
But the party would not go ahead with the later stages of the coalition's tax cuts, which would be fully rolled out in mid-2025.
The coalition argues lower-income earners would get a better deal than they would under Labor once its plan is completely rolled out.
Mr Shorten says the changes are unfairly beneficial to the "top end of town".
He has also continued to spruik analysis from the Grattan Institute showing the government would need to cut spending to the tune of $40 billion by 2030 to pay for its later tax cuts.
That comes after years of cuts, he argues, with treasurer-turned-prime minister Scott Morrison at the helm.
"He's the cutter in chief. He's the cutter in chief of schools, cutter in chief of hospitals, cutter in chief of services," Mr Shorten said.
Mr Morrison says the claim is wrong, with the coalition having ramped up funding for schools, hospitals, aged care, mental health services and Medicare in its years in office.
Mr Shorten's talk of cuts are a distraction, the prime minister believes.
"He's certainly getting a bit more desperate as each day passes and, therefore, he makes these sorts of claims," Mr Morrison told reporters in Tasmania.
That comes after Mr Shorten was been forced to clarify comments about his party's plans for superannuation taxes.
The leader on Tuesday said Labor would not increase taxes on superannuation if he wins the upcoming election.
But his party soon corrected the record, noting some of the superannuation policies Labor released in late 2016 will change the way people's retirement savings are taxed.
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