Anthony Albanese and treasurer Jim Chalmers ‘at war’ over housing tax policy, claim opposition
The worrying signs that Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers are ‘at war’ – as PM mitigates damage over bungled super-policy – and Australia prepares for ‘heavy’ budget
- Labor has denied a rift between the Prime Minister and Treasurer
- The coalition questioned whether the pair were “at war” over tax policy
- Govt frontbenchers have denied rumors that they are feuding
- Aussies warned May Budget will be ‘difficult’
After a day of political bumbling over tax policy, the government denies there is a rift between Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers.
The prime minister was forced to clear his treasurer on Wednesday when Dr Chalmers repeatedly refused to categorically rule out future changes to the capital gains tax exemption on the family home.
Dr. Chalmers later backed off, admitting he should have during his morning TV wreck. He eventually went further, stating that the tax reforms Labor introduced in the 2019 election, such as postage credits and negative gearing, would not be reheated.
But on Thursday, the coalition had seized on the confusion and wondered if the two men were “at war.”
The government has denied rumors that there is a rift between the Prime Minister and the Treasurer
“We have a treasurer at war with the prime minister, a prime minister who openly overrides his treasurer. Look, it’s schoolyard stuff,” deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley told ABC’s RN.
But government frontbenchers were quick to deny that the couple, whose birthday is Thursday, were openly arguing with each other.
“They’re good friends and they have a great working relationship,” frontbencher Tanya Plibersek said with a laugh when asked on Sky News.
She recalled that the couple were in good spirits at a cabinet meeting earlier this week, where the prime minister “thanked Jim” for his hard work on the pensions tax cut proposal.
“They are on the same wavelength because what we are proposing is a small, modest, necessary change to address the trillions of dollars in debt that the Liberals have left for Australian taxpayers,” Ms Plibersek added.
The Coalition had wondered if Mr Albanese and Dr Chalmers were arguing over tax reform
Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek (pictured) was among the frontbenchers who denied there was a feud, saying the pair are “good friends” with a “great working relationship”
Retirement has become the latest point of fire for the government after announcing that the super-income tax on balances over $3 million would double from 15 percent to 30 percent in two years.
The change will initially affect 80,000 people, or 0.05 per cent of Australians, but the treasurer has declined to say how many workers above that figure will be affected with the higher tax in coming decades.
Jane Hume, the opposition finance spokesman, admitted that while “there isn’t much sympathy for people with balances over $3m,” the government needs to be outspoken about its future impact.
“How many people will it catch in two years?” she asked on the Nine’s Today show.
“Who’s going to fall into the net in five years, 10 years, 20 years because that $3 million hasn’t been indexed?”
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has also warned that the federal budget will be “difficult” in May.
“There will be cuts, there will be things we need to do to make sure we put the budget on a sustainable basis,” he told Sky News Australia.