There's A Debate About Whether People Earning $180,000 A Year Are "Rich"
Well, are they?
This story begins with the 2014 budget, when the federal government applied a temporary 2% tax on Australians earning over $180,000.
It was called the "deficit levy", and the treasurer at the time, Joe Hockey, argued that with the nation's bank account billions of dollars in the red, the country needed a temporary tax on the rich.
Fast forward to 2017 and the "deficit levy" is about to expire on July 1.
Lukas Coch / AAPIMAGE
Labor is AGAINST removing the deficit levy, arguing that it's essentially green lighting a tax cut for "millionaires".
But there's been some confusion recently about whether someone on $180,000 a year should be considered "rich".
Sean Davey / AAPIMAGE
MITCHELL: What level do you look at though, that's why it comes down to what is rich? Is $180,000 a year rich?
SHORTEN: No it's not, but what I would say to you is that if you have $5 million in superannuation and retirement you probably don't need the rest of the taxpayers stuck in the traffic this morning paying for you to get a tax concession.