{"id":30969,"date":"2016-06-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-06-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/uncategorized\/treasurer-koutsantonis-s-jumbo-job-to-balance-the-books\/"},"modified":"2016-06-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-06-20T00:00:00","slug":"treasurer-koutsantonis-s-jumbo-job-to-balance-the-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cms.fiveaa.com.au\/show\/treasurer-koutsantonis-s-jumbo-job-to-balance-the-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Treasurer\u2019s jumbo job to balance the books"},"content":{"rendered":"

After announcing that his payroll tax relief for small business will be extended, Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis has likened the job of achieving a budget surplus to landing a jumbo jet on an aircraft carrier.<\/h3>\n

\u201cIf I can cut taxes, I\u2019ll do it. If I can keep [the budget] at surplus, I\u2019ll do that as well,\u201d Koutsantonis told FIVEAA Breakfast\u2019s David and Will on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can do both, that\u2019s landing a jumbo jet on an aircraft carrier, and I\u2019d like to do that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to have a growing economy if the government\u2019s continuously in deficit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to show the people of this state that we can live within our means.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople aren\u2019t going to invest in economies where the government can\u2019t live within its means and it\u2019s running deficits. You\u2019ve got to make sure your budget\u2019s in surplus.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll things being equal, the government having its books in the black is attractive for investment in South Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n

LISTEN TO TOM KOUTSANTONIS:<\/h3>\n