Those of us old enough to remember the 1993 federal election know that taxes can easily cause leaders to stumble. During the campaign, Opposition Leader John Hewson struggled to explain how a GST would change the cost of a birthday cake, helping to sink the Coalition’s chances.

Both Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese have lost their footing on tax this week.

Dutton, in the midst of a very patchy campaign, floated the idea of indexing personal income tax. As Michelle Grattan writes, this would be “the most radical proposal we’ve heard for the election, apart from the nuclear policy”.

So is it a genuine “aspiration”? A thought bubble? Whatever the case, landing such a big idea in this way points to the serious problems with the Coalition’s campaign.

Meanwhile, Albanese kicked an own goal in Wednesday’s debate when he insisted the government hadn’t commissioned modelling from Treasury on negative gearing. In fact, Treasurer Jim Chalmers had requested advice on the issue.

Both sides are no doubt looking forward to shifting down a gear over the Easter weekend.