Stage 3 tax cuts: Up to $40 million of taxpayer funds to be spent selling Labor’s broken promise

Up to $40 million of taxpayer funding has been allocated to sell Labor’s redesigned stage three tax cuts.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher revealed the figure for the “public information campaign” during Senate estimates on Wednesday afternoon.

A crack team of communications operatives inside Treasury — dubbed a “spin unit” by WA Liberal senator Dean Smith — is being set up with a main job of marketing Labor’s broken promise to the public.

Senator Gallagher defended the campaign as “pretty routine” after Senator Smith questioned if the spending splurge was an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars given the cost-of-living pressure on households.

The Labor frontbencher pointed to similar ad blitzes to explain the COVID-19 response and to market the Coalition’s original stage three tax package in 2019.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that there is accurate information about the changes that will come into effect on the first of July,” Senator Gallagher said.

Labor launched an ad explaining the changes to coincide with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement on January 25.

Senator Gallagher said details of the new campaign — including its scope and cost — had yet to be finalised.

She confirmed that the campaign would not start before the Dunkley by-election on March 2, with legislation to deliver the tax cuts still before the Federal Parliament.

The funding is allocated across the next two financial years.

Labor’s redesigned stage three tax cuts trims promised benefits to high-income earners in order to hand more relief to people on less than $150,000.

As a result, almost 85 per cent of taxpayers - or 11.5 million people - will receive a bigger tax cut compared to the Morrison Government’s package.

More to come.