WOW its the UNAustralian again,,,, What are these knob jockeys on, seriously hands up all single parent families on $45,000 p.a.... thats what I thought they are few & far between if any... these idiots are too far removed from reality, seriously how many of you earn enough to actually pay tax, to get a tax return??? Low-income families ahead despite $2000 budget hit THE AUSTRALIAN JULY 26, 2014 12:00AM David Crowe Political Correspondent Canberra Stefanie Balogh Senior Writer Canberra FAMILIES on low incomes will take a $2000 hit from the federal budget but will still receive $12,000 a year in tax-free benefits, almost double what they will pay in income tax, according to a new analysis that intensifies the political fight over the fairness of the budget. As the Abbott government tries to restart its budget sales pitch, the official analysis highlights the impact on ordinary households from spending cuts including the scrapping of the Schoolkids Bonus and freezing of Family Tax Benefits. But it also shows that the impact on some of the most vulnerable – single-parent families with two children – falls well short of the $6000 hit that Labor claims in its bid to block the budget. Experts confirmed the data was in line with independent estimates but pointed out the losses would be greater when the cost of living was taken into account. Labor Treasury spokesman Chris Bowen has warned that Joe Hockey would like to impose tougher cuts after a new biography of the Treasurer, released on Thursday, said he thought the budget too soft. “The Treasurer introduces a bad and unfair budget and then he fails to sell a bad budget, and in fairness to him it is very hard to sell, a very bad budget,” Mr Bowen said. The government is considering how to restart its budget strategy as the Senate blocks $40bn in savings and Liberals express frustration over the timing of Mr Hockey’s biography. The government analysis shows that a single-parent family with an income of $45,000 and two children aged 6 and 9 would have received $14,496.55 in government payments last year. That will fall to $12,317.97 over the next four years according to the “cameo” prepared by the Department of Social Services — a cut of $2178.58. While the benefits would shrink, they would still be worth more than the income tax bill of about $6500 on the family’s income, leaving the family ahead in net terms. The estimates include reductions in Family Tax Benefit Part A and Part B and the cancellation of the Schoolkids Bonus. Partially offsetting that is the introduction of a Single Parent Supplement worth $750 for each child up to the age of 12. Labor has based its attacks on calculations, backed by research from the National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling in Canberra, that families would be $6000 worse off under the budget. The Labor claim is based on a “cameo” of a single-income family on $65,000 a year but the government counters it by saying a family earning that much, with two children, would still get more than $8000 in federal payments in 2016-17. Political debate centres on the scale of the impact on families rather than whether they lose from the budget, given that department officials acknowledge that no families gain. “I am unaware of a circumstance in which as a consequence of a range of budget measures a family will be better off in a transfer sense,” DSS deputy secretary Serena Wilson told a Senate committee last month. Centre for Independent Studies policy analyst Trisha Jha said the cameo highlighted the “perversity” of rules that stop the Single Parent Supplement if the parent earns a dollar more than $48,837 a year. “It creates a pretty hefty incentive not to accept a promotion,” Ms Jha said. NATSEM principal research fellow Ben Phillips said the budget savings of $7.4bn from reduced family payments over four years came primarily from families on low incomes. “Being tricky with numbers and years can’t hide the fact that this equates to several thousand dollars per year for most low-income families, which is a large share of a low-income family budget,” Mr Phillips said. While Labor has agreed to one major change to the benefits – cutting the primary-earner income limit from $150,000 to $100,000 for Family Tax Benefit Part B – it opposes changes to indexation and the cancellation of the benefits when children pass the age of 6. And Labor and others are blocking moves to axe the SchoolKids Bonus. theaustralian.au/news/lowincome-families-ahead-despite-2000-budget-hit/story-e6frg6n6-1227002015400
Posted on: Sat, 26 Jul 2014 14:54:39 +0000
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