Since the Prime Minister announced changes to the Stage 3 tax cuts the criticisms have ranged from the absurd to the desperate.

Among the silliest has been the suggestion that the government is engaging in “class warfare” or that it is using “the politics of envy”. Largely these calls have come from either conservative media or the opposition parties, who it seems would have you believe that 100% of workers are actually in the top 15% on income earners.

The leader of the National Party, David Littleproud told Sky News about some of his constituents who “are only on $180,000, $190,000 and that’s still not a lot in this day and age”.

One can only wonder if $190,000 is not a lot, then what is living on the minimum wage of $45,906, or the median earnings of $67,600?

But the criticisms of class warfare are even more absurd when you look at the medium incomes of Australia’s 1,132 different occupations. Only 35 of those occupations have a median taxable income above $190,000 – including of course, Members of Parliament. $190,000 might not be a lot in this day and age for someone who earns more than that, but for almost all Australians is it more than they earn, and more than they will likely ever earn.

In 2020-21 of the 15,134,189 workers, 15,103,980 worked in occupations with a median taxable income of less than $190,000 – or 99.8% of all workers.

But we should remember that for those earning less than $146,500, the changes to Stage 3 will actually deliver bigger tax cuts.

Is that class warfare? The politics of envy?

Not at all. 15,040,205 – or 99.4% of people working in 2020-21 were in an occupation in which the median income was less than that amount. This means that almost everyone except, judges, magistrates, medical specialists, surgeons and members of parliament, work in an occupation in which a majority of people doing that job will be better off under the changes to Stage 3.

That’s not class warfare. That’s fair.