People Are Angry At Scott Morrison's Bizarre New Phrase

    Welcome to Morrison's "taxed and taxed-nots".

    Mark Di Stefano
    by Mark Di Stefano

    BuzzFeed News Political Editor, Australia

    Treasurer Scott Morrison coined a new phrase during a key economic speech on Thursday morning, arguing Australia was divided between the "taxed and taxed-nots".

    David Moir / AAPIMAGE

    Morrison laid out his vision for Australia at a major speech in Sydney that partly blamed young people and welfare recipients for the state of the country's finances.

    "A generation has grown up in an environment where receiving payments from the government is not seen as the reserve of the disadvantaged, but a common and expected component of their income over their entire life cycle," Morrison said.

    "More Australians today are likely to go through their entire lives without ever paying tax than for generations. And more Australians are likely today to be net beneficiaries of the government than contributors — never paying more tax than they receive in government payments."

    Then Morrison dropped his new phrase: "There is a new divide — the taxed and the taxed-nots," he said.

    People immediately compared it to the way Joe Hockey divided the country between "lifters and leaners".

    Paul Colgan @Colgo

    From Morrison's speech. This is way worse than lifters and leaners.

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    GetUp! @GetUp

    2014: Lifters and leaners 2016: The taxed and the taxed nots Something tells us the Coalition needs a new speech-writer...

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    Many were asking, "Wait a second, aren't there big companies that avoid paying tax?"

    Oxfam Australia @OxfamAustralia

    Who are the real '#taxednots'? Australian-based multinationals: https://t.co/1kKT0kvmwG #MakeTaxFair

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    In fact more than a third of Australia's largest businesses didn't pay any tax in 2013-14. Here are a few of the companies that could also be considered "taxed-nots":

    – Qantas

    – Apple

    – Transfield

    – Lend Lease

    – General Motors

    Churches and religious groups in Australia also enjoy tax-exempt status.

    Of course, big businesses pay other taxes, but so do people on welfare. For example, all Aussies are hit with the GST of 10% on goods and services.

    Labor leader Bill Shorten criticised Morrison's speech, saying, "Australians don't want a whinger as treasurer, Australians want a doer as treasurer."