Coalition attacks Labor's budget, focusing on trust taxes and housing

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Liberal leader sidesteps questions on drop in opinion poll support

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By Joshua Boscaini

The opposition leader has been asked why he think the Coalition's support has gone backwards in the latest Newspoll.

The latest Newspoll shows the Coalition's primary vote drop to 20 per cent, One Nation's vote rise to 27 per cent.

Labor's primary vote has remained stable at 31 per cent.

Asked how he can explain that, Angus Taylor has sidestepped that question but says the Coalition will fight the "stinker" budget.

"We'll repeal it and we're going to keep fighting, and we're going to fight every single day, as I say, through to the next election against absolutely rotten taxes, taxes that are going to, kill aspiration in this country," Taylor says.

Pressd on the polls again, Taylor's response to the journalist was: "You may be obsessed with the polls, I'm obsessed with the Australian people".

Taylor says Coalition will update income tax policy ahead of next election

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By Joshua Boscaini

The opposition leader has been asked by journalists why the Coalition hasn't costed its income tax policy announced last Thursday.

The Coalition promised to reverse Labor's tax changes and index income tax brackets to inflation last week.

Angus Taylor says the opposition will release more details closer to the next election.

"Obviously we'll see what the inflation rate is and wage gains are or aren't under Labor as we get closer to the next election but it's $22.5 billion. We've made that very clear," Taylor says.

Opposition accuses Labor of 'death tax by stealth' in budget

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By Joshua Boscaini

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor stepped up at a business in Sydney's west with the deputy Liberal leader and shadow housing minister just as Anthony Albanese was speaking.

Shadow Housing Minister Andrew Bragg says the government's changes to capital gains tax is a tax on millenials.

"It's a new tax on everything. It's new tax on start ups, small businesses ETFs shares crypto everything," Bragg says.

Deputy Liberal Leader Jane Hume has stepped up now and says the government's 30 per cent tax on discretionary trusts as a "death tax".

"They're going to be a death tax by stealth, because people use trust structures for honest reasons," Hume says.

"This government doesn't trust Australians, doesn't trust Australians to do the right thing. And that's why they're coming after trusts," she says.

Taylor says the budget was an "absolute stinker" and included taxes on houses and small businesses.

The opposition leader promised to reverse Labor's tax changes and index income tax brackets to inflation.

"This is about making sure the sort of small business people we're talking about today have a fair go, investors have a fair go, people who want to get into a home have a fair go," Taylor says.

PM on the defensive over changes to trusts

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By Courtney Gould

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is defending a proposed tax change to discretionary trusts as the Coalition ramps up its attack.

Under the changes, the discretionary trusts will be taxed at a minimum 30 per cent. The government has repeatedly said there will be no tax changes to fixed testamentary trusts - which relate to a person's will.

But the opposition has labelled the change a death tax.Albanese shrugged that off when asked, insisting that was not the case.

"The Coalition and their allies will say lots of things and sometimes their allies will just repeat the lines coming from the Coalition, and that's up to them," he says.

"But what we have put forward very clearly is comprehensive policy. And of course, when it comes to trusts if people want to continue the existing discretionary testamentary trust, there is no change. They can continue with a fixed trust."

Albanese takes aim at Coalition for calling for tax reform only to oppose it

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By Courtney Gould

Anthony Albanese is pushing ahead with his tax shakeup as he brushed off questions on if he got the budget wrong.

The latest polls published on Monday suggested a large number of voters are undecided on the budget. Additionally, a Resolve Political Monitor Survey put Angus Taylor ahead as preferred PM.

The PM says he's focused on "a better alignment between the tax paid on your labor ... and that paid on your assets".

"What I want to do is to make sure we are putting in place the right policies. And it contrasts with the three right wing policies and their allies ... who say what we need is tax reform and then oppose every tax reform that's put forward," he says.

More action needed on supply but budget measures will help: Albanese

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By Courtney Gould

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is up now and there is no prizes for guessing what he's talking about: housing.

Albanese notes that he visited this same housing development during the election campaign last year. The PM says the visit today is to celebrate the completion of an addition 100 homes.

Albanese then shifts focus to the shake up to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.

"We know that we're needed to do more on supply. So the changes that we've put forward in the budget last Tuesday simply do this," he says.

"If you have a negatively geared home, you can still continue. There are no changes in those arrangements."

Albanese argues that investing in new build homes can act as a way to build personal wealth but also the "wealth of the nation".

Premier Peter Malinauskas also here. He says he's grateful for the partnership with the federal government to deliver more housing.

PM visits housing development as he ramps up post-budget roadshow

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By Courtney Gould

We're just waiting on the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to stand up shortly alongside SA Premier Peter Malinauskas.

As you can see from the picture above, he's been touring a new housing development in Adelaide's north.

It shouldn't be too long until we hear from the pair. Stick around, we'll bring you all the action live on the blog.

Analysis: Andrew McLachlan condemns party's stance on permanent migrants

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By Joshua Boscaini

A Liberal senator has condemned his own party for creating "two types of community members" by pushing tax-paying migrants off welfare benefits, and raised concerns with Angus Taylor's use of the term "mass immigration" in his budget reply speech.

Backbencher Andrew McLachlan broke ranks on immigration policy, raising deep concerns that the Coalition's new policy would cause damage among diaspora communities, where people would be unable to retain their previous citizenship if they chose to become Australian citizens.

Under Taylor's proposal, tax-paying permanent migrants will have to become citizens to access welfare payments.

The opposition leader said the Coalition would claw back billions of dollars by cutting welfare, including the National Disability Insurance Scheme, JobSeeker, Youth Allowance and the Family Tax Benefit, for non-citizens.

Read the full analysis from Patricia Karvelas in the link below.

Chalmers says it would have been easier not to have acted

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By Joshua Boscaini

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says more people will be locked out of the housing market without the changes announced in the federal budget.

The federal government announced changes to negative gearing, capital gains tax and trusts in last week's federal budget.

The government projects that those changes will help 75,000 homes change hands from investors to first home buyers.

Chalmers says it would have been easier not to act at all.

"It would have been the easiest thing in the world to leave everything as it was to leave in place this busted status quo, which operates in tandem in the housing market and the tax system to make life harder for more Australians and particularly younger Australians," Chalmers says.

"We could have left that in place. That would have been politically easier to do. So I acknowledge that, but we would rather do the right thing, even if it's difficult," he says.

Chalmers says govt didn't make budget changes with aim of boosting poll numbers

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By Joshua Boscaini

A post-budget Newspoll shows 47 per cent of people surveyed believe the budget will be bad for the Australian economy.

Asked about the poll, Treasurer Jim Chalmers says he's "confident" the changes in the federal budget are the right decision.

The treasurer says the government wasn't expecting to get a bump in the polls after handing down last week's federal budget.

"We make these decisions to make a big positive difference to the housing market over time, particularly for young Australians who've been locked out for too long," Chalmers says.

"I don't think it's especially surprising to see the sorts of polls that we've seen in recent days," he says.

Treasurer defends trust tax changes, says it better aligns tax system for workers

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By Joshua Boscaini

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says existing testamentary discretionary trusts, deceased estates and fixed trusts are exempt from the changes.

The federal government will be imposing a 30 per cent minimum tax on future discretionary trusts from July 1, 2028.

Chalmers says there is no tax on inheritances or inherited trusts.

"I think in this regard, it's best not to listen to the scare campaigns from people who have a partisan or a commercial interest in this," Chalmers says.

"We're making sensible common sense changes. People are entirely free to set up fixed and fixed testamentary trusts after 2028 if that's how they would like to avoid paying the minimum tax.

"But overall this is about better aligning the tax system for workers and people who earn their income from assets."

Treasurer says deceased estates are exempt from discretionary trusts taxes

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By Joshua Boscaini

The treasurer has been asked how the changes to tax settings around discretionary trusts sits with him.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says there are a range of carve outs for discretionary trusts, including for disability trusts and deceased estates.

"We've made it very clear that deceased estates are exempt. Existing discretionary testamentary trusts, are exempt," Chalmers says.

"There are a whole range of exemptions which recognise that trusts have a legitimate role to play in some instances, in other instances where they're being used by often, people of who have the most money to avoid their obligations in tax and so we're taking these sensible common sense changes," he says.

Chalmers defends negative gearing, capital gains tax changes in federal budget

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By Joshua Boscaini

Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Housing Minister Clare O'Neil have stepped up for a press conference in Brisbane.

O'Neil has announced the Queensland and Commonwealth governments have signed a deal to build 50,000 homes in the state, nearly half of which will be reserved for first home buyers.

The treasurer has used his opening remarks to defend the government's changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax.

"The status quo in housing and in tax is broken, and we are fixing it, and we're coming at this housing challenge from every responsible angle," Chalmers says.

"We understand that people will have strong views about the politics of this, but it's the substance of the changes that we are making that matters most," he says.

Plibersek denies tax on discretionary trusts doesn't amount to 'death tax'

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By Joshua Boscaini

Let's circle back to this morning's panel on Channel Seven with Tanya Plibersek, on something causing a bit of a stir.

The federal government will be imposing a 30 per cent minimum tax on future discretionary trusts from July 1, 2028.

Plibersek was asked whether the minimum tax amounts to a "death tax".

The social services minister says the 30 per cent minimum tax will apply to families who "shift money around".

Asked if testamentary trusts will be taxed more after July 2028, Plibersek says the 30 per cent tax will only apply to discretionary trusts, not fixed testamentary trusts.

"No, it's not [a death tax]. You can still have a fixed testamentary trust if you want to and the reason we're doing this is because people who work for a living have to pay their tax,"

Plibersek says.

"And people who work for a living should not get taxed more on their wages than people earn on their assets," she says.

Chalmers orders six shareholders to divest from Northern Minerals

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By Joshua Boscaini

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has ordered six shareholders to divest their holdings in Northern Minerals in Western Australia.

The disposal orders relate to six Chinese-based companies and one company based in the British Virgin Islands.

A spokesperson for the treasurer says the decision was consistent with advice from the Treasury and the Foreign Investment Review Board.

"This decision was entirely consistent with advice from Treasury and the Foreign Investment Review Board, and is about protecting our national interest and ensuring compliance with our foreign investment framework," the spokesperson said.

"We operate a robust and non-discriminatory foreign investment framework, and will take further action if required to protect our national interest in relation to this matter."

Plan to cut permanent residents from 17 govt payments will encourage citizenship uptake: Sharma

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By Joshua Boscaini

The Coalition plans to block permanent residents from accessing 17 government welfare programs, including Jobseeker and the NDIS.

Shadow Assistant Minister Dave Sharma says the measure is aimed at encouraging people from taking up citizenship.

The shadow assistant minister says the measures would be prospective and won't affect people who are already in Australia.

"You won't be able to access, for instance, farm household allowance after four years of being a resident; you will need to wait to become a citizen,"

Sharma says.

"I think we're being upfront about that with prospective new citizens and arrivals, and it will encourage people to take out citizenship sooner," he says.

Sharma says further details on migration policy will be outlined before election

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By Joshua Boscaini

Shadow Assistant Minister Dave Sharma says the opposition hasn't determined which visa classes the Coalition will scale back if it's elected.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor has pledged to cap net overseas migration to the equivalent of one person per new house built.

Speaking to ABC Radio National Breakfast, Sharma says the Coalition will be revealing which categories of visas would be targeted closer to the election.

"We will be revealing details closer to the time, and I'm not responsible for this part of policy development myself, but I would say that we've made quite clear that we want it capped to the number of housing completions in the previous year, which would see a significant reduction on the amount," Sharma says.

"We're two years away from