Hear hear. At least we have a politician clearly acknowledging the average working family is fast approaching being now the new working poor - as they are continually being hit from all sides, with no end in sight.

Let's see what confetti Cossie throws at us this week budget day - $5 extra a fortnight for our childcare (re: three child family) I think I heard last night - His generosity knows no bounds!

Not Happy Jon. Not happy.

It's not a CIS estimate of tax expenditures, but a government estimate. The government releases a Tax Expenditure Statement every year, and they also publish tax expenditure stats in the revenue section of Budget Paper 1, and often in the MYEFO documents.

You can find the latest stats here: http://www.budget.gov.au/2006-07/bp1/html/bp1_bst5-12.htm

The budget says $39b in 05/06 and $41b in 06/07. If you need help with this sort of information in the future -- feel free to contact me.

Cutting back on tax expenditures, increasing the TFT, cutting tax & simplifying the tax system. You should support 30/30. ;)