Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has thrown Scott Morrison under the bus by refusing to repeat the Treasurer’s lies over the backpacker tax.

This shows the Coalition’s economic team is as hopelessly divided and dysfunctional as the rest of the Turnbull Government.

Mr Cormann was asked more than 10 times on Sky News today whether he agreed with the Treasurer’s claim that Australian workers would be taxed more than foreign workers under Labor’s proposed 10.5 per cent rate.

He was asked multiple times questions like:

            Do you argue that under a 10.5 per cent rate, foreigners would pay less tax than an Australian?

Dodging the question, the Finance Minister replied:

            What I argue is that we cannot afford to cut the tax that applies to foreign residents further.

Cormann has refused to back-in Morrison’s repeated argument, that our proposal would see:

“a lower rate of tax for foreign workers”, Question Time 24 November 2016.

As the Treasurer was told, Australians pay no tax up to the $18,200 tax-free threshold but working holiday visas will pay tax from the first dollar of income.

This is yet another serious split in the divided, dysfunctional and deceitful Turnbull Government.

The Government needs to stop lying about the backpacker tax and fix this shambles by supporting Labor’s fair and reasonable policy, which supports our farmers.