With all the talk about the May 12 budget containing significant tax reform, Anthony Albanese sounded very sensitive when confronted about one big reform his government won’t be making.

In a question-and-answer session at a forum run by the Daily Telegraph on Friday, it was put to Albanese, “You’re talking about fundamental and profound reforms, but why won’t you do the simplest and most effective reform and index income tax rates?”

The prime minister bristled, first saying (wrongly) “no government has done that” and then going on, “you define it that way. I don’t think that’s the most – I think that’s a very big call from you,” he told editor Ben English.

Pressed on whether such a change would not be about equity, Albanese said, “It’s an even bigger call for you to say that that’s the biggest thing we can do on equity in the budget. So, thank God you’re not on the ERC [expenditure review committee].

"There’s a range of tax measures you can do to really go hard on equity. That’s not at the front of them.”

Economist Richard Holden, from UNSW, points out that “bracket creep” – inflation pushing people into higher tax brackets – will worsen as a result of the Iran........

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