BUDGET 2017: Tax and benefits package targets low to middle income families

BUDGET 2017: Tax and benefits package targets low to middle income families
Pattrick Smellie
By Pattrick Smellie May 25 (BusinessDesk) - The Budget’s $2 billion a year package of tax and accommodation benefit changes is skewed deliberately towards the lowest income families and areas where rents are highest in an election year pitch by the government to be seen to respond to concerns about social inequality. “The measures in this Budget are expected to lift 20,000 households above the threshold for severe housing stress and reduce the number of children living in families receiving less than half the median income by around 50,00...