Cash handouts, more than $1,000 in tax relief for 7.8 million Australians, cheaper medicine, billions for your commute and a Budget surplus for the first time in 12 years.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s 2019 budget can be revealed as an election year splurge packed full of goodies to tempt voters to back Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Low and middle-income earners are set to receive more than $1,000 a year in tax cuts, or $21 a week, on top of the $500 in tax relief they received last year.
It is set to benefit Australians earning an average annual full-time salary of $83,500 as the government gives tax relief to those earning between $37,000 and $126,000 a year, covering more than half of Australia’s income-earners.
Part-time workers earning less than $37,000 a year will receive a smaller tax cut of $255 a year, or $4.90 a week, which means 10 million Australians workers will be getting some kind of tax relief.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s 2019 budget can be revealed as an election year splurge packed full of goodies to tempt voters to back Prime Minister Scott Morrison
Low and middle-income earners are set to receive more than $1,000 a year in tax cuts, or $21 a week, on top of the $500 in tax relief they received last year (Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, right, is pictured with Finance Minister Mathias Cormann)
Mr Frydenberg, 47, says his first budget, with a $7.1 billion surplus for 2019-20, was the result of ‘responsible decisions – difficult but necessary decisions’
Ministers are tonight celebrating the country being ‘back in black’ with the first Budget surplus since John Howard’s long-serving treasurer Peter Costello delivered his last Budget 12 years ago – before the global financial crisis hit.
Mr Frydenberg, 47, says his first budget, with a $7.1 billion surplus for 2019-20, was the result of ‘responsible decisions – difficult but necessary decisions.’
The Budget projected surpluses out to 2023.
‘It restores our nation’s finances without increasing taxes,’ he told Parliament in his first-ever Budget address.
The Treasurer hailed his financial plan as one designed to make life easier for ‘average families’ on a median household income of $74,800 a year.
‘Their cost of living pressures will be eased… there will be more money in their pocket,’ said Mr Frydenberg.
But Labor has already rubbished the budget as a ‘political leaflet’ and essentially says it will be redundant if the Opposition wins the next election.
The Budget – which Daily Mail Australia explains in detail below – draws the battle lines for an election likely to be called for next month.
Mr Morrison is expected to visit Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and call an election, possibly in coming days, with the Coalition now trailing Labor for 50 consecutive Newspoll surveys.
What the budget means for you
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has cheered Australia’s first surplus since 2007 with this meme-style photograph
Big day: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the government will ease the pressure on Australian families as he hands down a budget loaded with election sweeteners
If you want a tax cut…
About seven million Australians who earn between $37,000 and $126,000 will get some tax relief in the Budget as part of a $158 billion package.
This will benefit more than half of Australia’s income tax payers, whether they earn an average full-time salary of $83,500 or a median annual wage of $55,400.
Tax cuts will double from $530 from in the 2018-19 Budget to $1,080 for most low and middle-income earners in this year’s 2019-20 Budget.
The biggest winners are the 4.5 million median and average taxpayers who earn between $48,000 and $90,000 a year. They will walk home with the maximum bonus at tax time in July.
‘The government is more than doubling the low- and middle-income tax offset from 2018-19,’ Mr Frydenberg said.
‘Taxpayers earning up to $126,000 a year, including teachers, tradies and nurses, will receive a tax cut.
‘For a single-income family, this means $1,080 in your pocket per year.’
Australia’s 3.5 million low-to-middle income earners will be rewarded with an extra $1,000 in their tax return – plus the tax cuts handed to them last year following some stronger-than-expected royalties from higher iron ore prices.
Single mothers who receive the parenting payment will be eligible for the energy payment
Before the Budget was handed down, the prime minister hinted that Australians could expect some tax cuts.
‘Whenever I get the opportunity to give Australians further tax relief, I never miss the opportunity,’ Mr Morrison said.
If you’re struggling with high electricity bills…
More than 3.9 million welfare recipients will receive a cash handout to ease the cost of high electricity prices.
Singles will be paid $75 and couples $125 under the so-called energy assistance payment.
Age and disability support pensioners, single parenting payment recipients, carers, former servicemen and women and their dependents will be eligible.
But the unemployed won’t get a cent. Nor will self-funded retirees who don’t receive a part-pension.
Mr Frydenberg says the government will pay out the $285 million rebate by July.
It looks likely to pass Parliament, with Labor leader Bill Shorten ridiculing the rebate as a ‘con … worth about $1.45 a week’, but saying he will support the measure.
The money will pop up in bank accounts before the federal election, expected to be held on May 11.
About seven million Australians will get some tax relief in Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s Budget
If you run a small business…
Tradesmen after new tools and small business people decking out offices will be eligible for an expanded instant asset write off.
The measure lets businesses deduct assets like cars, tools and office equipment from their tax bill each year.
Businesses will be able to write off $25,000 a year – up from $20,000. The plan has been extended for another year, until June 30, 2020.
Pick your tools up… small business people who turn over less than $10 million will be able to write off tools, office equipment and other items on tax up to the value of $25,000
Businesses must turn over less than $10 million-a-year to be eligible for the tax break.
Meanwhile, further tax cuts are in the pipeline for small and medium enterprises (known as SMEs), which have a turnover of less than $50 million.
If you drive, fly or catch the train…
More money has been plunged into a mammoth effort to make Australians’ commutes easier and to fix troubled roads.
Infrastructure funding will jump $25 billion to $100 billion over the next 10 years in a bid to connect Australia’s job-creating cities with regional population centres.
The government will forge ahead with its $75 billion national infrastructure building campaign.
$75 billion has been plunged into infrastructure projects across the country over ten years. Westconnex construction works in Sydney are seen above
But experts have said that nice number is the result of clever accounting tricks and is not enough.
Headline-grabbing projects in the budget include:
- $2.2 billion to make roads safer, including improving bush highways, fixing black spots and a road safety office
- $2 billion for a bullet train from Geelong to Melbourne – if the Victorian government stumps up the same amount
- Funds to develop business cases for trains from Melbourne to Tullamarine Airport, and connecting a rail link to Sydney’s forthcoming second airport
- $253 million for ‘congestion-busting’ projects in Sydney and the NSW Central Coast, $194 million for Adelaide, $730 million for North Queensland roads
- An extra $1.6 billion for West Australian roads and railway projects
- $1 billion to improve freight networks, including road upgrades along the east coast of Australia
Despite $75 billion sounding like a massive amount of money, Infrastructure Partnerships Australian boss Adrian Dwyer told the Financial Review this month that ‘current funding doesn’t square with what we know about what’s happening with congestion (and) population growth’.
If you’re thinking about retiring…
Superannuation rules have been tweaked, especially for semi-retired people who work one day a week or volunteer.
People age 65 and 66 will be able to make voluntary super contributions without having to work a minimum of 40 hours a month from July 1, 2020.
The government has tweaked superannuation rules for so people aged 65 and 66 have ‘more flexibility’ (stock image)
The age limit for spouses to contribute to their partner’s super will also jump from 69 to 74.
People over 70 currently can’t receive contributions made by another person on their behalf.
If you’re ill…
X-rays and ultrasounds may get cheaper with the government investing $200 million to index Medicare rebates for life-saving scans.
Breast cancer MRI scans will be covered by Medicare.
Some medicines will be substantially cheaper, as will life-saving diagnostic scans
Two new drugs have been added to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for treatment of an aggressive skin cancer and an advanced breast cancer.
Bavencio, used to treat the rare skin cancer metastatic merkel cell carcinoma, and Ibrance, which slows the growth of breast cancers, have both been listed.
The PBS subsidy slashes the cost of Bavencio from $150,000 a year and Ibrance from $55,000 a year to about $40.30 per script.
If you’re sick of the banks behaving badly…
The big regulators that police the banks will get a half-a-billion dollar top up, after a royal commission found them asleep on the job.
Former High Court judge Hayne denounced ASIC (the Australian Securities and Investment Commission) and APRA (the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) for failing to take the banks to court.
‘Much more often than not, when misconduct was revealed, little happened beyond apology,’ Mr Hayne’s said in his scathing report.
ASIC’s budget will balloon by 25 per cent, or $400 million, and APRA’s bottom line was boosted $150 million, in the hope the financial cops will be ‘better able to stamp out misconduct’, Mr Frydenberg announced.
If you’re patriotic…
Mr Morrison said he wants to honour Captain James Cook’s journey to Australia 250 years ago because he gets a ‘bit of a bad show’.
His government has offered $12 million to support the Cooktown 2020 festival and fund a replica of Captain Cook’s ship, Endeavour, to circumnavigate Australia.
The Opposition scolded the PM for his ‘Captain Cook fetish’ when he made the announcement the week before Australia Day.
But Mr Morrison said he wants ‘to help Australians better understand Captain Cook’s historic voyage and its legacy for exploration, science and reconciliation.
‘That voyage is the reason Australia is what it is today and it’s important we take the opportunity to reflect on it.’
If you’re worried about drugs …
The Budget has set aside $188 million over five years to crack down on illegal drugs.
Addicts will benefit from a $10 million drug rehabilitation program.
SOME OTHER ITEMS IN AUSTRALIA’S 2019 BUDGET
Pledges in the Coalition’s Budget include:
* Tax office and other agencies to crack down on welfare cheats and tax dodging
* City deals for Adelaide, Hobart, Townsville, Launceston, Western Sydney, Darwin, Geelong, South East Queensland and Perth
* $100 million for regional airports
* Programs and policies bundled under a Long-Term National Health Plan
* $220 million from Medical Research Future Fund for research into heart disease
* $496 million for Victorian cancer research, services and facilities
* $62 million plan over four years for GP, emergency care and specialist services in rural areas.
* $20 million for a new program to support people living with epilepsy.
Mr Frydenberg and finance minister Mathias Cormann parade this year’s budget papers in front of media on Tuesday morning
* $570 million boost for national security agencies
* $294 million to upgrade security at airports in a bid to prevent terrorist attacks
* Australian Space Agency to be funded
* $2 billion for Emissions Reduction Fund, now called the Climate Solutions Fund
* $1.4 billion for Snowy Hydro 2.0
* $56 million for Battery of the Nation and Marinus Link projects in Tasmania
* $10 million business case for energy projects in north and central Queensland, alongside a shortlist of 12 further power projects which could be underwritten.
* $60 million for James Cook University’s Cairns Tropical Enterprise Centre
* $60 million indigenous education hub in Melbourne
* $78 million to provide more housing for women and children fleeing family violence
* $129 million to extend cashless welfare card to all of Northern Territory, and to Cape York communities in Queensland
* National Disability Insurance Scheme fully-funded, but an underspend over the financial year of $1.6 billion. The underspend was due to be about $5 billion but is expected to be reduced by the government increasing payments.
* $22.5 million towards establishing the National Centre for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse
* $28 million to improve weather monitoring, especially in flood-prone areas
* $9 million extra (total package $20m) to deal with yellow crazy ants in north Queensland.
* $550 million for housing in remote Northern Territory communities, through the reversal of a federal funding freeze.
* $150 million funding package for women’s sport
* $15 million towards the construction of the North Queensland Cowboys’ $45m new training facility in Townsville’s CBD
Source: Australian Associated Press