The independent Parliamentary Budget Office has today confirmed Malcolm Turnbull’s Liberals are slugging middle Australia with higher taxes to try to prop up their struggling Budget.

The PBO’s National Fiscal Outlook is more proof that Turnbull, Scott Morrison and Mathias Cormann don’t have a clue how to manage the nation’s finances in the interest of people on middle-incomes.

It shows:

• Commonwealth net debt continues to rise and will be at record highs for two more years (p. 11, p. 20);
• Net debt has blown out by another $19.6 billion since last year’s outlook due to higher than expected deficits (p. 11);
• The Liberals’ projected return to surplus relies on wages growth, which is at record lows, and higher personal income tax revenue (p. 7);
• The projected return to surplus relies on a period of faster growth in taxes than 2001-2006, when the mining boom was in full swing (p. 18); and
• Taxes will rise to the highest levels since before the Global Financial Crisis on the Liberals’ watch (p. 15).

The Liberals’ Budget is characterised by a triple-whammy of bigger deficits, more debt and higher taxes.

The PBO says the taxes increase “is predominately due to a projected rise in personal income tax” and “an increase in the Medicare levy from 2019-20”. (p. 15)

The Liberals want to jack up taxes on low- and middle-income earners through the Medicare levy, while Labor’s approach would protect those earning under $87,000 a year.

Instead of ditching their $65 billion tax cut for multinationals and the four big banks to fix their Budget mess, Turnbull and his crew are choosing to increase the tax burden on working Australians.

This independent report has shown again just how out-of-touch Turnbull and his Liberals are.