Stevens, thanks for listening… we know the popcorn tastes good, but it was time to get off the couch

Good Morning,

An early start this morning as we head into Sky News to talk interest rate cuts, discuss impacts of the federal budget and last night’s movements…

For those wanting to watch, tune in to Sky @ 8:15am.

Super Tuesday, you certainly lived up to expectations!

Glen, thank you for listening….

It has taken you around 2 months to get off the couch and yes, the popcorn is nice and salty, but I do appreciate your input…

1.75% interest rates…. The lowest on record….

The key question is whether the four banks will pass on the full interest rate?

ANZ is the only bank that hasn’t done so… is that because you don’t have enough money to pay a solid dividend this year? poor form ANZ…. Lift your game…

So what were the main points of last night’s budget?

Business 

Winners

·         Businesses with a turnover up to $10 million will pay a reduced company tax rate of 27.5 per cent.

·         Businesses with a turnover up to $100 million to gradually receive 27.5 per cent rate by 2020.

·         All businesses to receive reduced company tax rate of 27.5 per cent by 2024 and 25 per cent by 2027.

·         Unincorporated small businesses with a turnover less than $5 million get a tax discount of 8 per cent.

·         Businesses with a turnover up to $10 million receive $20,000 instant asset write off, expiring in June 2017.

Losers

·         Multinational corporations will face a diverted profits tax or "Google tax" of 40 per cent on income they attempt to shift offshore and will be policed by a 1000 member taskforce in the ATO.

·         Banks to sacrifice $121 million to fund corporate regulator ASIC under user pays model.

Taxes

Winners

·         People earning more than $80,000 receive a tax cut of up to $6 per week as the middle income tax threshold is increased.

·         Earners over $180,000 will see the Budget Repair Levy end as scheduled in June 2017.

Losers

·         Smokers face four 12.5 per cent increases in the tobacco excise, a policy the government copied from Labor and Tony Abbott attacked as a "workers' tax"

Superannuation

Winners

·         People earning up to $37,000 won't lose a tax rebate, capped at $500, on their contributions.

Losers

·         People with super balances over $1.6 million can no longer roll all savings into retirement funds with tax-free earnings.

·         People earning between $250,000 and $300,000 a year pay double the rate of tax on their super contributions.

·         Transition to retirement pension account holders have tax "loopholes" tightened.

·         Wealthiest 4 per cent forecast to be hardest hit by package.

Education

Winners

·         University students will not have their fees deregulated after the policy was officially dumped.

·         Schools get $1.2 billion in extra funding over three years from 2018 - less than Labor's promised $4.5 billion.

·         Disabled students receive $118 million in funding for extra support.

Losers

·         Universities will still be hit with a 20 per cent funding cut, originally proposed as part of fee deregulation package.

Health

Winners

·         State and territory hospitals receive $2.9 billion in additional funding between 2017 and 2020.        

Losers

·         Aged care providers to lose more than $1 billion in funding for complex healthcare over four years.

·         Doctors: Medicare benefits schedule frozen for three years.

Welfare & Training

Winners

·         People with a disability will benefit from welfare budget cuts invested in a new NDIS savings fund.

·         Young unemployed offered training and internship programs, with rewards for the employers, under $750 million employment package.

Losers

·         90,000 disability support recipients will have their payments reviewed to assess capacity to work, with 30,000 undergoing medical assessment.

·         Family tax benefit recipients still face tightening of the payments as the government persists with savings held up by the Senate.

·         Parents will wait until 2018, one year later than scheduled, to receive childcare subsidies funded by FTB changes.

·         Businesses: Subsidies for employing young people tightened.

·         Unemployed: Some Work for the Dole recipients will see payments restricted.

·         New welfare recipients will not receive Carbon tax compensation payments.  

Infrastructure

Winners

·         Second Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek receives $115 million.

·         Inland rail project between Brisbane and Melbourne receives $594 million.

·         Sydney Metro rail project receives $1.7 billion from asset recycling fund.

·         Melbourne Metro rail project receives $857 million from asset recycling fund.

·         Parramatta light rail, regional road and freight corridors, NT flood mitigation receive grants from asset recycling fund.

Losers

·         Victoria gets less than 10 per cent of national infrastructure funding averaged over four years.

Defence  & Security

Winners

·         Defence building projects get $195 billion over 10 years including submarine, frigate and patrol vessel construction.

·         Defence force gets $351 million for one year's maintenance of the fight against Islamic State.

·         Australian Federal Police and Australian Crime Commission funding boosted by $153 million for security amid terrorism fears.

The SPI is down 65 points this morning.