I know it's only $4 a week and I know we should be grateful for small mercies but, hey, a win's a win. At least our message is getting through to the politicians.
Over recent months we've campaigned hard for the indexation of income tax thresholds to beat, once and for all, that insidious tax by stealth, bracket creep. Every year it bleeds the incentive out of our tax system.
While last Tuesday's increase in the tax thresholds surprised everyone, it shows that the Prime Minister and Treasurer are starting to acknowledge increasing community pressure for change.
The next step is to ensure these thresholds are changed automatically every year and indexed to inflation. Just as so many excise duties and levies are indexed automatically, so tax thresholds should be as well.
The only problem is that indexing thresholds is not politically acceptable.
You see, indexing duties and charges means the Government does not have to announce the bad news every year that these taxes will go up: it just happens automatically.
But increasing tax thresholds can be dressed up as a tax cut, so naturally the Treasurer wants the kudos for delivering them. That's the harsh political reality, but shouldn't be an excuse for not continuing the push for automatic indexing.
I know I probably need to get a life, but I love reading the mountain of budget papers because they provide such detailed information on the economy and government finances.
While the Prime Minister and Treasurer were beating their breasts about the $2.5 billion in tax cuts, the budget papers show that, even after the cuts, personal income tax revenue will rise by $5 billion next financial year. The Treasurer says that's because more people will be working and paying tax. Maybe a small part will be, but not the whole $5 billion. Most of the increase will come from bracket creep.
It's also interesting to note that revenue from personal income tax alone (that's not including the GST) will account for more than 53 per cent of total tax revenue and, historically, that's one of the highest levels it has ever been.
In other words, it's average Australian workers who are providing a larger slice of the Government's spending money than ever before.
If that's not bad enough, then add superannuation.
What a disaster the superannuation tax system is, and even more disappointing is that absolutely nothing was done about it in the budget. The problem is that the longer it is left in this state, the harder it becomes to repair.
We're the only country in the world to tax superannuation three times (going in, while there and coming out), and for some Australians the superannuation surcharge makes for a fourth tier.
While the budget papers tell us the consumer price index (CPI) will rise 2.25 per cent next financial year and wages will rise 4 per cent, tax revenue from superannuation contributions and earnings will rise 13 per cent to more than $5 billion. That's an extra 13 per cent coming out of the retirement nest eggs of average Australian workers.
When I asked the Treasurer during the budget press conference how he would explain this to average Australians, he launched into a tirade about how superannuation contributions were still concessionally taxed when compared with paying your full marginal tax rate on wages etc, etc, "and that's why more Australians than ever are contributing to superannuation".
When I pointed out that this could be because superannuation is compulsory, he closed the press conference and walked out.
His sensitivity means he knows there's a problem, he knows it has to be fixed, but he just doesn't know how to do it.
The other issue which is crystal clear in the budget papers is just how incredibly good the Australian economy is compared with the rest of the world.
If we were in the same economic shape as the US, our budget this financial year would be in deficit by $30 billion.
The reality is that we have produced a budget surplus of $3.9 billion. Just as extraordinary is the fact that Government debt is one of the lowest in the world at 4 per cent of our GDP compared with 80 per cent for Japan and about 40 per cent for the US and the OECD average.
Our productivity levels over the past 10 years have been among the best in the world as well.
Unemployment is about 6 per cent, economic growth is 3.25 per cent, inflation is at 2.25 per cent and we have 30-year-low interest rates it's a combination that Japan, the US and many countries in Europe can only dream about.
Of course, underpinning this strength are strong tax revenues coming from you and me.
David Koch is Channel Seven finance editor and hosts Sky Business Report on Sky News channel.
