Budget surplus rhetoric is a 'costly political soundbite'

The Australian's Economics editor Adam Creighton says the federal government's desire of a budget surplus is a "very costly pursuit of a political soundbite ” which is only being achieved by higher and higher taxation each year.

“We should be trying to invest in the country to grow the economy faster so we don’t have to worry about taxation,” he said.

Mr Creighton told Sky News host Alan Jones given “the cost of borrowing is 1.2%” it would be better for the government to "run some small deficits and to pay for tax reform”.

“All this focus on the surplus obscures the fact that our households are the most indebted pretty much in the world,” he said.

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