Labor's Final Budget Outcome: Higher Taxes, Higher Spending and Families Left Behind

A joint media release with
The Hon Angus Taylor MP
Shadow Treasurer

30 September 2024

Today’s Final Budget Outcome reveals Labor’s is taxing more, and spending more, than any government in history.

Labor’s high taxing, high spending strategy is delivering no dividend to Australian families. Australian family budgets can’t win: facing higher taxes, and higher prices due to Labor’s inflationary spending.

Compared to before the election, Labor raised $104 billion in additional income in 2023-24 from higher taxes on households ($43 billion) and businesses ($54 billion). Tax receipts increased by 0.2% of GDP over the financial year, while spending grew in real terms by 2.9%.

Labor’s claims of spending less are false. Labor spent more last year than was spent at the peak of the COVID pandemic when our economy needed it most in an unprecedented global health and economic crisis.

Despite record terms of trade, low unemployment, and a recovering economy after the COVID pandemic, Labor has squandered the strong economy it inherited from the Coalition. With productivity going backwards and Australia now 18 months into a household recession, Labor is claiming credit for one of the smallest surpluses delivered as a share of the economy.

With the strong economic conditions Labor inherited, a drover’s dog could have delivered a surplus over the last two financial years.

The reality is Australians are facing a decade of deficits under Labor. Despite two surpluses, debt is higher under Labor and growing, with interest payments taking up a bigger share of the economy.

This is a consequence of a Labor Government that has abandoned strong fiscal guardrails, and waged war with anti-business policies on the very industries that drive our prosperity. Labor is out of touch and out of its depth on economic management.

Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor said Labor’s entire Budget strategy is to take from hard-working Australians to bolster its own bottom line.

“Australians can see straight through this Treasurer’s spin. This is the biggest spending, biggest taxing government in Australian history.

“Household budgets are in tatters because of Labor. Living standards have collapsed, and families are in an entrenched recession. This is a disastrous situation for them.

“Labor is relying on higher taxes from higher commodity prices and insidious bracket creep caused by Labor’s high inflation.

“All Labor has done is make the structural deficit worse. The consequence is these Budget surpluses will be short lived, with deficits as far as the eye can see.”

Shadow Finance Minister Senator Jane Hume said Labor's failure to address structural pressures on the Budget and new baked-in spending will simply make life harder for Australians.

“The Finance Minister admitted today that Labor’s lower spending has absolutely nothing to do with their Budget management.

“Labor hasn’t done any hard work, in fact the opposite - payments are down due to lower demand in programs and Labor’s failure to manage its payments to the States.

“Hardworking Australians are suffering under Labor’s fiscal mismanagement. Labor is responsible for the inflation and higher interest rates pain continuing far longer than it needs to. Labor has no plan to end the cost of living crisis they have perpetuated.”

Only a Coalition Government can deliver strong back to basics economic management that gets Australia back on track.