The federal government is under pressure to scrap the next round of tax cuts with opponents arguing we can’t afford them and they will disproportionately benefit men and high-income earners.
The stage three cuts are due to come into effect in 2024.
Labor had initially opposed the cuts but pledged to keep them in place after they were passed in federal parliament last year.
According to figures obtained by the Greens and published by Nine Newspapers, the tax cuts will cost the budget $243 billion by 2032-33.
People earning over $180,000 would receive almost half of that while those earning between $45,000 and $60,000 would only get around 1 per cent.
The analysis also shows men would receive more than $160 billion of the tax cuts compared to just under $83 billion for women.
But Employment Minister Tony Burke has played down calls for the tax cuts to be scuttled.
“Well, first of all, they’re 2024. So for the cost of living pressures right now, there’s nothing where these tax cuts actually make a direct impact,” Mr Burke told Nine.
“Secondly, at the election, we made clear that we believe people should have certainty, and we opposed them at the time that they went through the parliament, but we said once they were in, we were going to leave it.”
Nationals Leader David Littleproud has warned Labor not to turn its back on its pledge.
We went to the election, as did Labor, promising these tax cuts and this would be a breach of faith from the Labor Party if they walked away from them,” Mr Littleproud told Nine.
“They’ve already walked away from the $275 they promised to households to reduce their electricity costs. This would be another breach of faith.”
