Ahead of the government's tax cuts becoming law, Josh Frydenberg was pretty confident what they would be worth and what they would achieve.

"The tax cuts are equivalent to two 25 basis rate point cuts. So they're not insignificant. It's billions of dollars into the economy," he said.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg changed his view on what Australians are doing with their tax cuts. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

"They will add to household consumption, they'll add to the disposable income of households and it will be good for economic activity."

The reality, five months on, is something else.