Turnbull’s tax plan will hurt working people, won’t create jobs – ACTU

New ACTU empirical analysis covering 10 years and 34 OECD countries shows that when you cut corporate taxes no jobs are created and wages decrease.

ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said “Giving multinational corporations and the big banks $80 billion will fuel inequality. It will make it harder to get a pay rise and it will increase the cost of living.”

The report also finds that the cost of cutting income tax for people earning $200,000 is $24 billion per year, enough to fund the education of 1.9 million secondary school students, according to figures from the Parliamentary Budget Office.

The Turnbull Government’s proposed changes to income tax would entrench inequality, as low-income workers’ pay the price for handouts to people earning $200,000.

“The proposed changes would move Australia further down the path of Americanisation – entrenched inequality and failing services.” Says Ms McManus.

Removing an entire tax bracket will leave the government less equipped to provide the essential services that all Australians rely on.

The Abbott/Turnbull Government have already cut essential services, resulting in higher costs and lower quality services for working people.  Education, healthcare, skills training, and the NBN have all faced cuts that have reduced the quality of the service, and forced working people to pay more.

Ms McManus also commented “The government’s plans ensure more cuts to essential services. It will mean people struggling to get by.”

“We need to be improving wage growth, investing in education and healthcare, cracking down on tax evasion, wage theft, superannuation theft, and the exploitation of vulnerable workers, not giving a big handout to people earning 2.5 times the average wage.”