The Albanese Labor Government must keep the legislated Stage 3 Tax Cuts in order to provide budget relief for thousands of working Australian families, Member for Mallee Anne Webster says.

As Labor backbenchers, Members on the Crossbench and powerful Unions lobby Labor to renege on its commitment to keep the Coalition-introduced policy, Dr Webster called on the Prime Minister to ensure it remained.

“We need to provide tax relief to those who have shouldered the burden of Australia’s Cost of Living crisis – hard workers like those in Mallee who, despite increased wages are no better off, because wages have not kept pace with inflation,” Dr Webster said.

“Over the past 18 months income taxes have gone up by more than 27 per cent according to National Accounts data, which has helped propel the Government into surplus as they look to tax their way out of Australia’s Cost of Living black hole.

“The mums and dads paying those taxes deserve relief so they can continue feeding their families and keep the lights on at home.”

Under the cuts, a person earning $60,000 will pay $375 less tax, a person earning $70,000 will save $625 and a person earning $80,000 will save $875 according to figures from The Tax Institute

As a result of the cuts, millions of average wage earners will claw back money lost over the years because tax brackets had not been adjusted with rises in income. Statistics show that the number of Australians in the top tax bracket has doubled in the sixteen years since it was introduced.

The Prime Minister and Treasurer Jim Chalmers, who both voted against the cuts when in Opposition, promised at the last Federal Election they would not change them.

But it has been revealed Dr Chalmers asked Treasury for advice on the impact of making changes to the Stage 3 Tax Cuts last year, as Members of his Government continue to put pressure on them.

“Labor has already broken promises on taxes – raising taxes on franking credits, on Australian companies, on retirement savings, on non-government schools, and an unprecedented tax on unrealised capital gains, while they also let the Low and Middle Income Earner Tax Offset go by the wayside,” Dr Webster said.

“The Stage 3 Tax Cuts will support the millions of working Australians Labor has refused to, the Government must not interfere with them.”