Swan Plans Savings With Australia Tax A$150 Billion Short
This article is for subscribers only.
Australia will need to find “substantial savings” in its budget due May 8 thanks to a cumulative A$150 billion ($156 billion) writedown in expected tax revenue over the past four years, Treasurer Wayne Swan said.
Returning the budget to surplus in the year through June 2013 will be “that much harder” for Canberra as a result of cuts in the tax revenue, which will take A$5 billion from the budget that year and again in the year through June 2014, he said in a weekly economic note yesterday.