How much you save under Labor and the Coalition's tax plans at a glance

Updated

The tax debate has been raging across Australia for more than a year.

Labor and the Coalition have similar plans in the short-term, but what is proposed to happen after the next two elections paints a different picture.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison insists his plan is to lower taxes "not just today but into the future".

But Labor leader Bill Shorten thinks the Coalition's plan "does not do enough" for the 2.9 million Australians who earn less than $40,000 per year.

The campaign rhetoric has left many voters unsure what the differences are between the parties' plans.

This chart, prepared with assistance from the Grattan Institute, highlights the likely changes to income tax bills depending on who wins the election.

Notes

The change in tax paid for those on incomes below $20,000 per year is very low and therefore this income bracket has been excluded in order to simplify the chart.

The lead-in time of the Coalition's policy is unusual. Budgets only plan in detail four years in advance, but the Coalition's tax plan promises major reform beyond the timeframe of the budget estimates.

Labor, if it wins one of the three elections set down for the next decade, is likely to propose its own tax reform. It is not likely to do so before the election however, so this chart compares Labor's announced policy to the Coalition's.

Incomes are set to increase in coming years, meaning the income ranges for each category also increase. These changes are provided below. "k" denotes "thousands".

Year Income brackets 2021-22 $21k to $40k $40k to $61k $61k to $96k Over $96k 2024-25 $23k to $44k $44k to $67k $67k to $106k Over $106k 2029-30 $26k to $50k $50k to $78k $78k to $124k Over $124k

Change in tax paid

Data is provided here for vision-impaired readers.

Values are averages for change in tax paid for each income bracket at each point in time.

Income brackets Year (Party) $21k to $40k $40k to $61k $61k to $96k Over $96k 2021-22 (Coalition) -$242 -$953 -$1,090 -$359 2021-22 (Labor) -$321 -$967 -$1,090 $349 2024-25 (Coalition) -$338 -$1,314 -$2,215 -$7,251 2024-25 (Labor) -$386 -$1,047 -$1,055 $645 2029-30 (Coalition) -$555 -$1,534 -$2,977 -$8,661 2029-30 (Labor) -$552 -$1,078 -$861 $1,132

Topics: government-and-politics, federal-election, tax, australia

First posted