O75 Public Administration

Labor’s deeming rate reduction predicted to cost $1b

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 8-Jul-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the federal government will change the deeming rate for pensioners by the end of 2019, and that over 25 per cent of pension recipients will be better off as a result. Shadow social services minister Linda Burney says a change in the deeming rate is urgently needed, and that cutting it by 1.25 per cent would see pensioners $3,875 a year better off. The deeming rate has not been changed since 2015, while cutting it by 1.25 per cent would reduce the Budget bottom line of at least $1 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Kelty: cut the top tax rate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 8-Jul-19

Former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty warns that Australia’s income tax system will remain uncompetitive unless there is broader reform than the federal government’s tax cuts package. Kelty argues that any reforms to the tax system should be in response to the demands of the future, negating Labor’s view that the stage-three tax cuts should have been put on hold due to uncertainty about the economic outlook in five years’ time, when they are slated to take effect. Kelty also says Australia’s top marginal income tax rate is too high, and changes to the enterprise bargaining system are needed.

CORPORATES
ACTU, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

RBA, tax cuts are more than enough boost

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 8-Jul-19

Stephen Koukoulas of Market Economics and Andrew Charlton from Alphabeta say that further fiscal stimulus is not needed at present to boost the Australian economy. They argue that the federal government’s income tax cuts, the Reserve Bank’s latest official interest rate reduction and an easing of credit restrictions should be sufficient, and in fact may provide a greater economic boost than many observers anticipate. They add that too much fiscal stimulus could put a return to a Budget surplus at risk.

CORPORATES
MARKET ECONOMICS PTY LTD, ALPHABETA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

IR reform urgent for economy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Rosie Lewis
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 8-Jul-19

Business leaders have identified changes to the industrial relations system as a priority for the federal government following the passage of its income tax cuts package. Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox and Australian Resources & Energy Group CEO Steve Knott say the reform agenda should include changes to the ‘better off overall test’ for enterprise agreements, passing the Ensuring Integrity Bill and Proper Use of Worker Benefits Bill, and a review of unfair dismissal and adverse action laws. They argue that major changes to the Fair Work Act are not necessary.

CORPORATES
THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN RESOURCES AND ENERGY GROUP, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Setka in court bid to block ALP’s axe

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tessa Akerman
The Australian – Page: 5 : 5-Jul-19

Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union official John Setka is seeking an injunction against Labor’s national executive, which wants to expel him from the party. Labor leader Anthony Albanese claims that Setka’s conduct in recent years has been unacceptable, and he must be expelled to prevent further damage to the party’s reputation. Setka in turn alleges that being expelled from Labor would damage his own reputation and could result in the loss of his position as Victorian secretary of the CFMMEU.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA

Tax office wins fight over GST on scrap gold

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Nick Evans
The Australian – Page: 23 : 5-Jul-19

The Australian Taxation Office has secured an important legal victory in its ongoing battle to withhold tax credits that were allegedly wrongfully claimed under a GST gold swindle. Deputy commissioner Jeremy Geale says the significance of its latest win in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal is that it was against a gold refiner, whereas the previous wins have been against gold dealers or scrap merchants. It is claimed that the swindle has cost federal Treasury over $1 billion.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Retailers bask in a little ray of sunshine

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tim Boyd, Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 5-Jul-19

Carpet Court CEO James Hayward predicts that the $1,080 tax rebate that most low and middle income earners will receive in the next few months will provide a similar boost to the economy as Kevin Rudd’s 2009 stimulus package. That package saw around 10 million Australians receive $900. His comments are echoed by MYOB CEO Tim Reed, who notes that low and middle income earners have a "high propensity to spend".

CORPORATES
CARPET COURT AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MYOB GROUP LIMITED, KOGAN.COM LIMITED – ASX KGN, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

$15bn kickstart for economy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Geoff Chambers, Adam Creighton, Greg Brown, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 5-Jul-19

Harvey Norman executive chairman Gerry Harvey says the federal government’s income tax cuts will boost the retail sector and consumer spending. The tax cuts have also been welcomed by Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott, who says further action is needed to ensure long-term economic growth. Meanwhile, Chris Richardson of Deloitte Access Economics expects the tax cuts to have a bigger impact in the near-term than the recent interest rate cuts. Labor agreed to back the full tax package in the Senate after its proposal to bring forward the stage-two cuts and legislate stage three separately was rejected.

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN PETROLEUM PRODUCTION AND EXPLORATION ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Real unemployment at 9.2% in June as tax cuts set to boost economy

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Jul-19

The latest data for the Roy Morgan employment series shows that 12,363,000 Australians were employed in June 2019, up 118,000 over the past year. The rise in employment was driven by a significant increase in full-time employment of 479,000 over the last year (to 8,279,000); however, part-time employment has declined by 361,000 (to 4,084,000). The figures also show that 1,254,000 Australians (9.2% of the workforce) were unemployed in June, up 83,000 on a year ago, and the unemployment rate was up by 0.5%. An additional 1,275,000 Australians (9.4% of the workforce) were under-employed, working part-time and looking for more work, a decrease of 27,000 in a year (down 0.3%). In total, 2,529,000 Australians (18.6% of the workforce) were either unemployed or under-employed in June, an increase of 56,000 in a year (up 0.2%). Roy Morgan’s real unemployment figure of 9.2% for June is significantly higher than the current ABS estimate for May 2019 of 5.2%. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says many commentators are expressing concern about the state of the Australian economy; however, with significant income tax cuts being legislated by the new Government and back-to-back interest rate cuts by the RBA in June and July, there is an increasing amount of stimulus in the Australian economy to support businesses and therefore increase employment opportunities.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Trade surplus hasn’t hushed rate cut talk

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 4-Jul-19

Australia’s trade surplus rose to a record $5.7bn in May, eclipsing the previous high of $4.8bn in April. The big trade surplus was driven by strong growth in iron ore export volumes and the price of the steel input. Kaixin Owyong of National Australia Bank says the record trade surplus could put the nation on track to achieve a current account surplus for the first time in decades. Meanwhile, some economists have flagged the potential for another official interest rate cut in August.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD