Young and working Australians will spend the next decade bearing the brunt of higher taxes to pay for essential services and repair the budget bottom line, with the Albanese government facing politically charged choices between tax relief and deep cuts to spending.

A report released on Thursday by the independent Parliamentary Budget Office on the expected state of the budget out to 2035–36 argues that while the nation’s finances are currently sustainable, younger Australians will be the hardest hit by record levels of personal taxation.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers is due to release the final numbers for the 2024-25 budget by the end of the month. He is expected to confirm the budget deficit for the last financial year to be in single digits rather than the $27.6 billion forecast in March.

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