Half of Australians say they would battle to pay an unexpected bill, with warnings voters are now struggling to deal with a perfect financial storm caused by soaring interest rates, power bills and grocery prices.
41 per cent of respondents
Sixty-four per cent of low-income earners say they would have difficulty meeting an unexpected bill. But even among medium-income earners and high earners , there has been a sharp lift in evidence of the financial pain facing most Australians. A key issue is inflation. A third of respondents say managing inflation is the responsibility of the Reserve Bank, which is mandated to keep it between 2 and 3 per cent. Forty-two per cent believe it is the job of the government, while a quarter say both have a role.
There has been a 40 per cent increase in the number of applications for revolving credit facilities over the past year.Savings balances have fallen by 40 per cent since October last year. The Resolve survey also confirmed that a plurality of voters support the stage 3 tax cuts – due to start from July 1 next year – but a majority are either opposed or unsure.Thirty-eight per cent backed the cuts, which will reduce tax for all people earning more than $45,000 a year but which will cost the budget more than $20 billion in their first year of operation.
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