news, federal-politics, coalition, tax cuts, Morrison government, $158 billion tax cut package, scott morrison, josh frydenberg, jim chalmers, peter khalil

Legislation to enact the Coalition's signature tax cut policy was not finished before the Parliament was dissolved, and the Morrison government will not confirm whether the bill is ready to be introduced now. Labor and the crossbench are under pressure to support the $158 billion personal income tax package in full when the new Parliament sits for the first time in less than two weeks. The cuts of up to $1080 per year were promised in the April 2 budget, and were a key plank of the Coalition's reelection campaign. But shortly after the election, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was forced to admit it was unlikely he could convene Parliament in time to pass the package before June 30, meaning 10 million workers would have to wait for the promised returns. But in a response to a question on notice, the government revealed while Treasury had started work on the bill, it was not finished before the government went into caretaker mode. A government spokesman said: "Legislation to provide tax cuts and put more money in the pockets of hard working Australians will be ready to introduce when the Parliament resumes". He refused to say if it was ready now. The government earlier last week ruled out bringing the next sitting of Parliament forward a week to pass the cuts by the end of this financial year, even though the make-up of the Senate has now been confirmed. It rejected a request from Labor for detailed costings of the 2024 cuts, instead telling shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers there was enough information in the budget papers. It is also resisting calls from Labor to split the package up. Labor supports the first stage of the package, which would provide a cut for low to middle-income owners from 2019 to 2022. The second stage would raise the 19 per cent tax bracket threshold from $41,000 to $45,000 from 2022 . The third stage would abolish the 37 per cent tax bracket, with those earning between $45,000 and $200,000 to pay a tax rate of 30 per cent. However Victorian Labor MP Peter Khalil broke ranks to call for his party to support the package if the government will not split it up, tweeting "we shouldn't block tax cuts for working and middle class Aussies". Finance Minister Mathias Cormann reportedly told One Nation senator Pauline Hanson the government would not make deals with the crossbench to get the legislation over the line. If Labor will not support the bill, the government will need the backing of four of six crossbenchers. It comes after former Liberal leader John Hewson warned the tax cuts would be unaffordable heading into the 2020s, in the face of a weakening economy.

https://nnimgt-a.akamaihd.net/transform/v1/crop/frm/fdcx/doc75r5md2whx01g1j7o90h.jpg/r0_96_3975_2342_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg