Last night, April 2, the Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released the Coalition’s budget, earlier than usual ahead of the impending Federal Election, which is set to be held some time in May.
Below is a summary of some of the key elements of the Budget:
More than doubling of the low and middle income tax offset to $1,080 from 2018-19. Taxpayers earning up to $126,000 a year will receive this tax cut.
Forecast budget surplus of $7.1 Billion for 2019-20 and further surpluses in the following 3 years (a total of $45 Billion over 4 years)
Economy is forecast to grow by 2.75% in 2019-20 and 2020-21
Lowering the 32.5% tax rate to 30% from 1 July 2024. This will cover all taxpayers earning between $45,000 and $200,000 and would mean that 94% of taxpayers will pay no more than 30 cents in the dollar
From 2024-25, there would only be 3 personal income tax rates – 19%, 30% and 45%
Increasing the instant asset write-off from $25,000 to $30,000, with effect from 7:30pm (AEDT) on 2 April 2019. The write-off threshold will also be extended to apply to businesses with a turnover of up to $50 million - this will only apply to 30 June 2020.
$100 billion on infrastructure over the next decade to reduce congestion and improve links between Australia's cities and regional towns (a lot of which has already been announced)
An immediate one-off rebate on energy costs to pensioners, of $75 for an individual or $125 for couples.
Changes to Work test for Super contributions for those aged 66 and 67
EMDG scheme - extra $60 million in funding over the next 3 years to help more businesses export their products and services around the world.
For further information, please see our more detailed analysis paper here