Tax cuts on the agenda before 2019 election: Turnbull

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says personal tax cuts will be announced before the next election while keeping to the promise of a balanced budget by mid-2021.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says personal tax cuts will be announced before the next election. (AAP)

Malcolm Turnbull promises personal income tax cuts will be announced before the 2019 federal election, running alongside his government's push for cutting the company tax rate cut to 25 per cent for all businesses.

"How much we can do and when we do it will depend on the budgetary circumstances but we do have the ability to do it," the prime minister told Sky News on Sunday.

He said the government gave a clear signal of intent when he flagged the cuts during a speech to business two weeks ago

"We are focused on keeping more money in the pockets of hardworking Australians," he said.

"That's our intention but of course we have to keep to our commitment to getting the budget back into balance by 2021. We are very satisfied we can do that."
His comments came as the US Senate narrowly passed President Donald Trump's ambitious tax cuts, which will include lowering the US company tax rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent.

Mr Turnbull said the aim to reduce Australia's corporate tax rate from 30 per cent is to keep the economy competitive,

So far the parliament has agreed to cuts for businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million.

Labor's Tim Hammond said the economy simply cannot afford $65 billion of business tax cuts.

"There are many different ways in which we can create a very positive investment environment in Australia without going down the path of completely blowing a hole in the budget," he told Sky News.

Share
2 min read

Published

Updated



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Tax cuts on the agenda before 2019 election: Turnbull | SBS News