23 October 2007

Tax cuts will benefit Australian immigration

With elections looming and a substantial budget surplus, both the current Australian government and the opposition Labour party are offering tax cuts. People interested in Australian immigration will benefit from reduced "earning disincentives", according to economic experts.

The Labour party has promised to cut the tax scales from four to three, reducing bracket creep and putting more money into pay packets. Tom Murphy, from the Western Research Institute, told the Daily Liberal that this would be mean people could earn a little extra "without worrying about losing 40 per cent of it".

Both political parties have announced very similar tax pledges but Labour has also promised an AU$2.3 billion (£1 billion) education rebate programme and raised the available child care rebate from 30 to 50 per cent, in a bid to appeal to workers with children.

Experts have also called for the budget surplus to be used for "capacity building" to address Australia's skills shortage, particularly in education and healthcare.

Australia needs skilled immigrants: Anyone applying for an Australian visa should begin by completing the Australian Visa Bureau's online Australian visa application to see if they meet the Australian visa requirements.