I have to say last week’s media coverage of the Budget was at least sycophantic, at worst deceptive. Take the Tele’s working class plan headline. The coverage missed the point, and in fact the short term-cash splash – aka bribe will soon be totally consumed, and people will generally be worse off.
There were a couple of high points in the online media though which go to the heart of the story. This from Alan Kohler in the New Daily, focussing on the strategic errors which were made in 2020, thus creating a higher than needed debt burden for the country.
And this from Michael West Media, By Callum Foote arguing that Frydenberg hides $30 a week tax increase for most Australians.
Treasurer Frydenberg announced a number of cost-of-living measures in his budget speech.
These include a one-off $250 cost of living tax offset for more than 10 million low and middle-income earners, a boost to people receiving the low and middle-income tax offset by $420 for the 2021-22 financial year as well as halving the fuel excise for six months.
What the Treasurer didn’t say is that the additional $420 tax offset for low and middle-income earners he mentioned will stop entirely at the end of this financial year, on June 30.
The extra cash bumps the tax offset up to $1500 this year which ends on June 30.
This means that despite the extra cash given to them this year, those on this tax offset will be $1500, or almost $30 per week, worse off.
