Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has ridiculed recent comments by Opposition spokesman Joe Hockey about tax cuts.

The tax breaks promised before the election start from today.

Yesterday Mr Hockey said it would have been legitimate for the Government to scrap them because of the global financial crisis.

"There would have been a legitimate justification for the Government to say 'our economic recovery will be slower if we are running a big deficit', and I think it should have been considered as part of the mix," he said.

But Mr Swan says that comment is at odds with Opposition's recent position that the cuts could have been brought forward as a way of stimulating the economy.

"Poor old Joe Hockey, he just can't get it right," Mr Swan said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/01/2613305.htm?section=justin