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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Comment
Greg Jericho

Labor cutting Hecs debt is not a perfect policy – but why the feigned outrage over ‘fairness’?

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, with university and Tafe students at Parliament House on Monday
The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, with university and Tafe students at Parliament House on Monday. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

The federal government’s plan to cut 20% off Hecs/Help has been met with some ludicrous claims about fairness that has to make you wonder if people have only just discovered the tax system is designed by governments that make choices about who benefits.

On Friday the latest corporate tax transparency figures were released and showed that, for example, Qantas paid no tax in 2022-23. Not a shock – it didn’t pay any in 2021-22, or 2020-21, or 2019-20. It did pay tax in 2018-19 so I guess it’s all good. And sure, we all know air travel had it brutally hard during the pandemic, but just how long will those losses be carried over to avoid having a taxable income?

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