The Government has announced modest tax cuts for every Australian in a pre-Election Budget focused on assuaging voters with cost-of-living relief at a time of rising global uncertainty.
But Treasurer Jim Chalmers also handed down books that have entered the red with a $42.1b deficit and debt projected to exceed $1 trillion in the 2025-26 financial year.
On the eve of the Federal Election, the Government will be counting on voters overlooking forecasts of a decade of deficits by adding $17b in tax cuts to already announced sweeteners that include $1.8b in energy bill relief, a beefy 8.5b fund to expand Medicare bulk-billing and more affordable housing.
The plan, against a backdrop of global turmoil from ongoing conflict in the Middle East…
