Regional Australians will receive a fraction of the benefit of the federal government's controversial stage-three tax cuts.
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Research released by the Australia Institute has revealed the top 20 electorates gaining from the policy are in metropolitan electorates, with 17 of the 20 located in inner metropolitan areas.
In comparison, 14 of the bottom 20 electorates to benefit from the tax cut are from provincial and rural areas, with only one inner metropolitan seat represented in the bottom 20.
Further, the changes will see people in the top 20 electorates paying $4.8 billion dollars less in tax in 2024-25, while the bottom 20 will only be paying $1.1 billion less in tax.
The government's stage three tax cuts have been criticised by a number of bodies, including the Australia Institute, since they were announced by the coalition in 2018.
The policy, which will come into effect from July 2024, will see high-income earners pay less tax by eliminating the 37 per cent marginal tax bracket and lowering the 32.5 per cent tax rate to 30 per cent.
This will mean everyone earning between $45,001 and $200,000 a year will be taxed at the same 30 per cent rate.
According to the Australia Institute, a total of 55 of all 151 electorates will receive "a higher-than-average benefit from the stage three cuts."
Of this group, only four of the electorates are located in provincial or rural seats, and they all include significant mining industry employment or contain large numbers of people commuting to capital cities.
The four electorates are Durack in Western Australia, Capricornia and Dawson in Queensland and Newcastle in New South Wales.
"This demonstrates that the handful of provincial and rural electorates that are likely to see above-average reductions in tax collection are not typical of regional Australia," the think tank's report said.
Australia Institute senior economist Matt Grudnoff said regional electorates were more likely to be home to lower-income individuals, and would therefore see little benefit from the policy.
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"This data shows the bush and rural electorates will largely miss out on what are effectively tax cuts for rich people in the big smoke," he said.
"The Stage 3 tax cuts will cost more than a quarter of a trillion dollars to the budget, which will only put pressure on funding essential health, education and community programs outside major cities.