CANBERRA, June 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has recorded a landmark victory as the Senate approved the largest tax reform in Australian history.
The 144 million Australian dollars (106 billion U.S. dollars) Personal Income Tax Plan will become law after the package was cleared in Australia's Upper House on Thursday.
Support from One Nation and Centre Alliance got the Coalition bill over the line, with resistance from the Labor, the Greens and independent Tim Storer.
Treasurer Scott Morrison said "In passing our personal income tax plan through the parliament, the (government) has ensured Australians will be paying less tax, and will be rewarded for their hard work both now and into the future."
Under the first of three stages in the plan, low and middle-income earners will get tax relief of up to 530 Australian dollar (390 US dollars) a year from July 1, with benefits for people earning up to 200,000 Australian dollars (147,500 U.S. dollars) to come into place in 2024.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) released a paper on Thursday, arguing the tax cuts do not deliver promised benefits, and the budget cannot afford the package.
The package was passed after the Centre Alliance performed a U-turn on its initial rejection of tax cuts for high income earners on Wednesday.
In March, the Turnbull government fell two Senate votes short of passing the big business element of its company tax cut package -- expected to cost 35 billion Australian dollars (25.8 billion U.S. dollars) over 10 years after successfully cutting the rate for small and medium businesses.
The Coalition was then dealt a further blow when Pauline Hanson's One Nation opposed the package, adding two votes to its opposition despite Brian Burston exiting the party and signalling his intention to vote with the government.
