BERWICK
Thursday, 8 February, 2024
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Home builds in limbo
Where’s the fire station?
Interns check in
Callum cracks a ton
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SPORT
Seven sets of twins An astounding seven sets of twins are embarking on their high school journey together at Hampton Park Secondary College. With two sets of identical twins, and five fraternal, the class is shaping up to be a highly memorable one. For more on the story, turn to page 10
Back row: Kaiysah, Mikayla, Melanie, Mariahna, Jared, Desmond and Sienna. Front row: Makyiah, Taya, Candice, Keira, Amberlee, Kaino and Shanita. 380876 Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS
Bagging benefits By Ethan Benedicto Narre Warren shoppers have welcomed the changes to the stage three tax cuts as the issue looms as a potential hot button issue at the next election. Labor MP Julian Hill, who represents the Bruce electorate, has naturally supported his party’s stance. While the Opposition says it won’t stand in the way of the changes, La Trobe MP Jason Wood slammed the Prime Minister for going back on his word of not touching the stage three tax cuts. However, the Liberal MP said “the Coalition affirms its commitment to achieving lower, simpler and fairer taxes, exemplified by our
support for reducing the 19 cent tax rate to 16 cents”. The changes, announced on 25 January by the Federal Government, will see low-income earners receive a larger tax cut than originally proposed. According to the Treasury Department, 13.6 million Australians are to benefit from the redesigned stage three tax cuts, as compared to its previous model which catered to only 10.8 million taxpayers. Effective on 1 July this year, the tax brackets for lower to middle income earners will be changing, with individuals earning $18,000 to $45,000 to have their tax rate reduced from 19 per cent to 16 per cent. Likewise, the next tax bracket of those earn-
ing anywhere through $45,001 to $135,000 will have their tax rate change from 32.5 per cent to 30 per cent. Essentially, more money in residents’ pockets allows for a little bit more breathing room, with local shoppers at Fountain Gate Westfield sitting on the fence between spending more or saving more. One shopper said that the changes will “allow me to be better with my money.” “Getting taxed makes me feel like ‘oh I can do whatever with my money since I’m not even earning that much’.” “But since I’m a uni student it would help a lot with organising what I need to pay for my studies and so on,” the shopper said.
Other sentiments juggled between saving and spending, with one lady saying that “everything is so expensive at the moment”. “I think I’ll be spending and saving, but we’re always spending now and we’re not saving anything,” she said. The higher brackets have also changed, with those earning $135,001 to $190,000 being taxed at 37 per cent and anyone earning over $190,000 being taxed at 45 per cent. Bruce electorate MP Julian Hill recently released a statement saying that Labor’s tax cuts “will provide a real cost-of-living relief to all 13.6 million Australian taxpayers without adding to inflationary pressures”. Continued page 8
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