CANBERRA, April 3 (Xinhua) -- Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has delivered his first Federal Budget, announcing tax cuts worth 158 billion Australian dollars (111.5 billion U.S. dollars) for working and middle-class Australians.
Frydenberg on Tuesday night announced Australia's budget for 2019-2020 at Parliament House, forecasting a surplus of 7.1 billion Australian dollars (5.01 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of financial year 2019-2020, rising to 17.8 billion Australian dollars (12.5 billion U.S. dollars) by the end of 2021-2022.
"Tonight, I announce that the Budget is back in the black and Australia is back on track," Frydenberg said in his budget speech.
"For the first time in 12 years, our nation is again paying its own way."
The promised tax cuts are on top of tax cuts worth 144 billion Australian dollars (101.6 billion U.S. dollars) legislated by the government in 2018, bringing the total value of the package to 302 billion Australian dollars (213 billion U.S. dollars).
Under the cuts, annual tax refunds to 10 million Australians earning up to 126,000 Australian dollars (88,965 U.S. dollars) per year will increase by up to 1,080 Australian dollars (762.5 U.S. dollars) for singles and 2,160 Australian dollars (1,525.1 U.S. dollars) for families with two incomes.
Bill Shorten, leader of the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP), described the budget as a "con" that was designed "to get through the next six weeks" of the election campaign.
He promised that if elected in May, the ALP would support the first stage of the expanded tax cut package but would boost relief for those earning less than 40,000 Australian dollars (28,242 U.S. dollars) per year.
In addition to the significant tax cuts, Frydenberg also announced that under his budget the government's plan to invest 75 billion Australian dollars (52.9 billion U.S. dollars) in infrastructure over 10 years will be raised to 100 billion Australian dollars (70.6 billion U.S. dollars).
Funding for schools will be increased to 300 billion Australian dollars (211.8 billion U.S. dollars), a 63 percent increase, and 3.9 billion Australian dollars (2.75 billion U.S. dollars) has been set aside for an emergency response fund for natural disasters.
