Combet assures households compensation through tax system

Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has assured voters they will pay less to cut carbon discharges under Labor than the Coalition as he suggested that carbon tax compensation will be paid through the tax transfer system.

Combet said today that households are expected to be $720 worse off a year under Tony Abbott's direct action plan to confront climate change.

Low and middle-income would receive a 50 per cent hand back of the money raised through the carbon tax from Labor. This is much more in reimbursement than they would outlay under the tax, declared Combet.

Combet explained that one of the most efficient ways to deliver the billions of dollars in assistance is through the tax and transfer system as he points to tax cuts or welfare changes.

Despite Opposition warnings that households would only gain in the short term, Combet assured compensation to households would be permanent.

A future Coalition government would find unwinding the system of paying compensation through the tax system more difficult than if it was paid in an annual lump sum.

Combet will release the specifications of Labor's carbon tax today. This would sharpen the government’s offer to households to reduce their fears about energy bill price increases.

Selling the carbon tax is the ideal way to confront climate change, while leaving millions of families at an advantage.

During an interview Combet told ABC radio, "The sorts of scare campaigns that Tony Abbott has been engaging in are completely unfounded and irresponsible and against the national interest."

"They obscure the fact that his sort of silly climate change policy is going to take money from taxpayers, take money from households, to the tune of $720 a year, and pay it to polluters," Combet added.

According to Abbott action plan, which includes tree planting and storing carbon in soil, would cost only $3.2 billion over four years, but Labor articulates that the strategy would cost up to $19.5 billion.

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