After much speculation, the Government has announced that they will amend the legislated Stage 3 tax cuts scheduled to commence on 1 July 2024. This will mean that more Australian taxpayers will receive a personal income tax cut and take home more in their pay packet from 1 July, but for some, the impact will be less favourable than it would have been prior to the redesign.
The revised tax cuts redistribute the reforms to benefit lower income households that have been disproportionately impacted by cost of living pressures.
Under the proposed redesign, all resident taxpayers with taxable income under $146,486, who would actually have an income tax liability, will receive a larger tax cut compared with the existing Stage 3 plan.
For example:
However, an individual earning $200,000 will have the benefit of the Stage 3 plan slashed to around half of what was expected from $9,075 to $4,529. There is still a benefit compared with current tax rates, just not as much.
There is additional relief for low-income earners with the Medicare Levy low-income thresholds expected to increase by 7.1% in line with inflation. It is expected that an individual will not start paying the 2% Medicare Levy until their income reaches $32,500 (up from $26,000).
While the proposed redesign is intended to be broadly revenue neutral compared with the existing budgeted Stage 3 plan, it will cost around $1bn more over the next four years before bracket creep starts to diminish the gains.
The Government will need to quickly enact amending legislation to make the redesigned Stage 3 tax cuts a reality by 1 July 2024. This will involve garnering the support of the independents or minor parties to secure its passage through Parliament.
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