K-Rudd’s 42 Billion Spending Spree: What’s In It For You
Posted by Amber Robinson at 1:33 PM on February 3, 2009
The Federal Government today unveiled a new mini-budget to spend $42 billion on “nation building and jobs” as woeful predictions emerge on the budget bottom line over the next few years.
The stimulus package is a mix of one-off payments, infrastructure investment and tax breaks.
The plan aims to retain 90,000 jobs over the next two years and insulate Australia against the worst of the global economic recession.
There’s plenty for families too — let’s take a closer look.
The detailed announced so far include:
· $14.7b for school maintenance ($200,000 per school)
· $12.7b for cash bonuses of up to $950 (more details below)
· $6.6b for community and public housing (20,000 homes)
· $3.9b to pay for insulation of 2.7m homes (farewell freezing winters!)
· $2.7b tax breaks for small business
· $890m for road repairs and infrastructure
· Increase in solar hot-water rebate from $1000 to $1600, effective from today until June 30, 2012.
As reported in the SMH, the $950 payments will be means tested for those who meet a variety of criteria:
About 8.7 million workers will get a lump sum tax-free bonus, depending on their annual income.
Those earning up to $80,000 a year will receive $950, those earning between $80,000 and $90,000 will get $650 and those earning between $90,000 and $100,000 will get a $300 bonus.
Single-income families who receive the Family Tax Benefit Part B – about 1.5 million families – will get $950 on March 11. It will only be paid to those who were eligible for Family Tax Benefit Part B on February 3.
Those receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A with a child aged between four and 18 years will get a $950 back-to-school bonus.
We’ll keep you updated as more details come to hand – with a cut to the interest rate also expected this afternoon chalk today up as Windfall Tuesday.
So if I work hard, pay lots of tax, but earn a few dollars too much I get nothing!!! I spend too you know. Well maybe it’s time I didn’t, and just stash it away under the bed.. I don’t begrudge anyone who works, or tries their hardest too get work anything they get.
This is all very good but again it is forgetting the struggler who is on the Newstart Centrelink payment that is out there day in day out searching for a god damn job and always gets rejected. You know we would love our bank accounts to be refuelled so we could go out and buy just a couple of luxuries like the rest that have a nice fuelled bank account and alot of luxuries but instead the govt is going to top there bank accounts up again. The Newstart payment recipients missed out with the Xmas bonus and we are going to miss out again and I dont think that is fair.
for a single parents like me it is hard to find a job i always get rejected not enuff experiece ur making lots of job in australian and get worker in overseas there is no job left for us i been trying to find a job and always get rejected this is bullshit i meet a lots of ppl as a worker visa they dont have exp in australia but they get job easyli, why me i been here for 9 years trying to apply for job and i cant get it this is not pair im australian citizent and ur priority is out side worker.
well, I don’t qualify for any of that payout but I am glad the people that need it gets it. Let us be nice to one another. I am a migrant of this country and I love this country. let us all work together toward a better australia.
I am all for helping those that help themselves. Although the people that choose to lower their income to receive the tax benefits should be omitted and give it to the aussie struggler
i don’t think anyone should get the one off payment its all going to the wrong people it should all go to the needy like the victoria fire appeal not to rich
I would like to see the government get the unemployed to work for the dole, I have worked numerous jobs and can not get the dole because my husbands works.
I think this would give people the opportunity to get a different job, if they can not find one the normally do
As for the payout to families etc, I also think this is great, but at the end of the day we are only getting back a small portion of the tax we pay, so its not actually enough . Count up how much tax you have paid in working full time for over twenty years. Than tell me why we should not get it back.
this is not the way to go about stimulating the economy, my god the future looks bleak with people like brown, rudd, and obama in power. wat ever happend to the dream of a free-market. help the producers produce, dont help the looters loot
I’m going to university and have a casual job that earns enough for petrol and food for the week. I pay tax like almost everyone does. I earnt came in at a lil under $11,000 last year. Does that mean that i dont qualify because i didn’t make the cut? I thought this was supposed to help the struggling australian batlers… I’m confused.