The Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance, the nation’s largest grassroots advocacy group representing taxpayers, announced their spending tracker in anticipation of the budget to be released tonight. The , cheekily named ‘Waste Watchers’, calculates the cost of new spending measures on individual taxpayers and households as they are announced on budget night.
“Instead of abstract numbers few can comprehend, we want Australians to know how much each government expenditure costs them,” said ATA Policy Director, Emilie Dye. “When the government spends billions, Australians have a right to know how much that bill they must pick up.”
“Every Australian should be worried about the skyrocketing deficit. As a nation, we will have to pay the debt back with interest, and that money comes right out of your tax bill.”
“Instead of spending more on random government programs, policymakers need to take a chainsaw and start cutting. Any program that isn’t putting money in the pockets of Australians needs to go, as we struggle to get through this crisis.”
“The ATA’s Waste Watchers spending tracker will help Australians to see just how much politicians’ extravagance costs them personally.”