Treasurer Jim Chalmers slams Coalition tax breaks plan ‘farce’, but talks down voters’ inflation fears in poll

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has slammed planned Coalition tax breaks for golf rounds as a “farce” as cost-of-living pressures come to the fore of the election debate.

Small businesses would be able to claim tickets to football matches, a round of golf and cinema trips under an Opposition proposal to trigger tax deductions for small businesses claiming work-related meal and entertainment expenses up to $20,000, reported the Telegraph.

But the two-year trial, which is only available to businesses with an annual turnover of up to $10 million, would not include boozy lunches, or spending at brothels or strip clubs.

The tax deduction was announced by Coalition Leader Peter Dutton in Brisbane on Sunday as a move to support local pubs, cafes and restaurants.

But Dr Chalmers denounced the policy as “a complete and utter farce” and challenged the Coalition to reveal how much it would cost the national budget.

“Why isn’t the Coalition releasing this costing if they’ve received it?” he said.

“Why won’t they tell the Australian people how much it will cost taxpayers to provide taxpayer-funded long lunches and golf days for bosses?”

However, on Thursday, the government was forced to defend its own economic policies after a new poll by Resolve Strategic for the Sydney Morning Herald showed that 46 per cent of voters expected their real wages to fall this year.

In another uncomfortable finding for Labor, the survey revealed that 50 per cent expect inflation to get worse in the near future, refusing to believe the Government’s assurances that price pressures are reducing.

Dr Chalmers argued other opinion polls did not show the same sentiment but acknowledged that “some of these numbers we’re seeing are a reflection of the very real and genuine cost of living pressures that people are under.”

The Government had made “remarkable progress” in the economy overall – bringing down inflation, pushing up wages and keeping employment low, he said.

“That doesn’t always translate into how people are feeling and faring. And you see that reflected from time to time in the opinion polls.”