Tax cuts for rich thrown into doubt

Well-off people might lose out on promised tax cuts as the federal government warns
it has to get tough in the May 12 budget.
Treasurer Wayne Swan has refused to guarantee that tax cuts for people earning over
$80,000 will go ahead as planned on July 1.
But cancer sufferers can look forward to some good news in the budget - $600 million
will go towards cheaper drugs for people with bowel, breast and kidney cancer.
Mr Swan set tongues wagging when he dodged questions about the tax cuts on ABC
Television.
"We have already legislated those tax cuts," he said, when asked whether they would
be in the budget.
"But I make this point very clearly: there are very hard choices in this budget."
He said the government was rearranging its priorities so it could pay for an
increase to the aged pension.
The tax rate for people earning between $80,000 and $180,000 is due to be cut this
year and again next year.
But that promise was made in sunnier economic times and the government has been
preparing people for a tough budget next week, as the country slides into a
recession.
Mr Swan said $115 billion had been stripped from government revenues since the last
budget, and that figure would only get worse on budget night.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull urged the government to stick to its promise and
deliver the tax cuts.
He asked why the government was spending billions on cash hand-outs, then reneging
on its tax pledge.
"They don't know whether they are tightening their belt or throwing money around
like Santa Claus on steroids," Mr Turnbull said.
Australian Greens leader Bob Brown said the tax cuts were not justified in a
recession, and the wealthiest people should pay more tax, not less.
Amid all the doom and gloom, the budget boost to cancer patients was welcomed.
The bowel cancer drug Avastin will be listed on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
(PBS) from July, bringing down the cost per dose from $2,000 to $33.
The breast cancer drug Herceptin is already free, and the government will extend
that arrangement for another four years. Patients would pay $60,000 a year
otherwise.
And people with kidney cancer can now get the drug Sutent on the PBS.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said the extra funding would help vulnerable people
battling some of the most severe forms of cancer.
"These drugs are expensive. We've made room for them to be able to be funded," Ms
Roxon told the Ten Network.
Mr Turnbull welcomed the move, saying it was a "very high-held priority" to help
people with cancer.
Lyn Swinburne, chief executive of the Breast Cancer Network Australia, was delighted
with the decision to continue funding for Herceptin.
It was vital for women suffering from a particularly aggressive form of breast
cancer called HER2-plus, she said.
"Many women are alive today because of Herceptin," Ms Swinburne said.
There had been fears that eligibility to the subsidy for the drug would be
tightened, she noted.