**TRUE** - The Coalition government did break an election promise by proposing and implementing the "deficit tax" (officially called the Temporary Budget Repair Levy).
During the 2013 election campaign, Tony Abbott made explicit commitments including: "No cuts to education, no cuts to health, no change to pensions, no change to the GST and no cuts to the ABC or SBS" [4].
The 2014 budget broke these commitments, with the deficit levy representing a clear contradiction of the Coalition's anti-tax messaging during the campaign [4][5].
**The structural deficit was known before the election.** Treasury's pre-election fiscal outlook (August 2013) already projected a $30.1 billion deficit for 2013-14, and this was publicly available information [7].
The claim implies the deficit was a surprise discovery, when in fact it was widely acknowledged.
**The levy was targeted and temporary.** Unlike broad-based tax increases, the deficit levy specifically applied only to high-income earners (top 2-3% of taxpayers earning above $180,000) [2].
It was explicitly designed as a temporary three-year measure, not a permanent structural change to the tax system [6].
**Economic context.** The budget faced deteriorating revenue conditions due to global economic factors, falling commodity prices, and the ongoing effects of the Global Financial Crisis [1].
The article by Tristan Edis is clearly opinionated and satirical, framing Abbott as a "comedian" for the perceived contradictions in his policy positions [8].
The factual claims within the article (about the carbon tax costing $1.85b annually vs. the deficit levy raising $2.5b annually) are accurate, but readers should distinguish between the factual content and the opinionated framing.
**Did Labor do something similar?**
**YES - The Gillard government's carbon tax broken promise is one of the most famous in Australian political history.**
Before the 2010 election, Prime Minister Julia Gillard stated: "There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead" [9].
* * * *
After the election resulted in a hung parliament and Gillard formed government with Greens support, the government introduced the Clean Energy Act 2011, which established a carbon pricing scheme (carbon tax) effective July 1, 2012 [10].
The carbon tax was set at $23 per tonne of CO2 emissions, rising to $24.15 in 2013-14 [10].
* * * *
This broken promise became a central attack line for the Coalition throughout the 2010-2013 parliament and was cited as a major factor in Labor's 2013 election defeat [9][10].
**Other Labor tax promise controversies:**
- The Rudd government's means testing of the private health insurance rebate (2009), which broke a 2007 election promise [11]
- Various modifications to superannuation taxation during Labor's term
**Comparison:** Both major parties have broken significant tax-related election promises.
The Gillard carbon tax promise breach was arguably more consequential politically, as it was a clear unequivocal statement made during an election campaign, whereas Abbott's promises were part of a broader set of commitments.
**Legitimate criticisms of the Coalition:**
- The deficit levy directly contradicted the Coalition's election messaging about taxes and their criticism of the carbon tax as a "great big new tax" [8]
- Tony Abbott's government broke multiple specific pre-election promises in the 2014 budget, not just on taxes but on education, health, and pension commitments [4][5]
- The "budget emergency" rhetoric was arguably overstated, given that Australia maintained relatively low government debt compared to other developed nations [12]
**Context and justifications:**
- The levy was temporary (three years) and progressive (targeting only high-income earners), distinguishing it from broad-based permanent tax increases [2][6]
- The government argued it was necessary for budget repair after inheriting a structural deficit [1]
- The measure was part of a broader budget that also reduced corporate tax rates from 30% to 28.5% from July 2015 [1]
**Political pattern:** Broken tax promises are not unique to either party.
Australian governments facing budget pressures have frequently departed from pre-election tax commitments:
- Howard government: promised "never ever" to introduce GST (1995), then introduced it (1998)
- Gillard government: promised "no carbon tax" (2010), then introduced it (2012)
- Abbott government: promised no new taxes/cuts to services (2013), then introduced deficit levy and made cuts (2014)
This pattern suggests that pre-election tax promises in Australian politics should be viewed with appropriate skepticism regardless of which party makes them.
The Coalition government did break an election promise by proposing and implementing the Temporary Budget Repair Levy (deficit tax) in the 2014 budget.
Tony Abbott had explicitly campaigned against taxes and made commitments about not cutting services or introducing new taxes, which the 2014 budget contradicted [4][5].
However, the claim benefits from context: the structural deficit was known before the election, the levy was temporary and targeted at high-income earners, and both major parties have significant histories of breaking tax-related election promises—most notably Labor's carbon tax promise breach which was arguably more consequential.
The Coalition government did break an election promise by proposing and implementing the Temporary Budget Repair Levy (deficit tax) in the 2014 budget.
Tony Abbott had explicitly campaigned against taxes and made commitments about not cutting services or introducing new taxes, which the 2014 budget contradicted [4][5].
However, the claim benefits from context: the structural deficit was known before the election, the levy was temporary and targeted at high-income earners, and both major parties have significant histories of breaking tax-related election promises—most notably Labor's carbon tax promise breach which was arguably more consequential.