O75 Public Administration

ATO targets 106 secret Credit Suisse accounts

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-May-18

The financial affairs of Credit Suisse’s private clients in Australia are under scrutiny by the Australian Taxation Office. The ATO contacted 77 of the Swiss bank’s local private clients on 1 May, and it will target 106 such clients in total. The ATO has identified more than 5,000 cross-border transactions that are deemed to be suspicious, and which exceed $A900m in total. The Australian clients are believed to have been advised by Switzerland-based relationship managers, who are alleged to have provided advice on tax evasion schemes.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE AG, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence in third consecutive rise up 0.8pts to 119.2

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-May-18

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence rose 0.7% to 119.2 in the week ended 29 April, its highest value in 11 weeks. Households’ views toward current financial conditions bounced 1.7% following a 2.4% decline previously. Views towards future conditions edged up 0.2%, the third straight weekly increase. Both sub-indices remain above their long-term averages. Consumers continued to be optimistic about year-ahead economic conditions, with sentiment rising a solid 3.9% after a similar rise in the previous week. Views towards future conditions were more restrained. This sub-index slipped 0.7%, partially reversing the previous week’s 3.2% rise. The "time to buy a household item" sub-index eased 0.9% off a solid 4.1% bounce previously. Inflation expectations remained steady at 4.4% on a weekly basis.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Call for infrastructure boost, without tricks

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 1-May-18

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia CEO Adrian Dwyer has urged the Federal Government to increase its spending on infrastructure in the May 2018 Budget. He argues that infrastructure spending should be increased by $A7.5bn over four years to offset a decline in such expenditure over the last decade. Dwyer has also questioned the policy of funding infrastructure projects via financing vehicles such as the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility rather than the Budget. The Coalition and Labor both recently announced funding for major infrastructure projects.

CORPORATES
INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA, NORTHERN AUSTRALIA INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Morrison to pledge a surplus of tax cuts

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Original article by David Uren, Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 1-May-18

Treasurer Scott Morrison says the Federal Government will ensure that tax revenue is capped at no more than 23.9 per cent of GDP, and it will cut personal income taxes when necessary to avoid breaching this threshold. However, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says this suggests that the Coalition has backtracked on its stated policy of achieving a Budget surplus that is equivalent to one per cent of GDP. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott argues that personal income tax cuts should not be on the government’s agenda unless it also pursues measures that will increase productivity, such as reducing the corporate tax rate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD

Foodora warned over sham contracts

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 30-Apr-18

The contracts that food delivery company Foodora has with its delivery riders would not stand up under legal challenge, according to a leaked email. A Foodora executive who is a former lawyer stated in a March email that its contracts contain phrases that blur the lines between employee and contractor arrangements, and that if just one was successfully challenged it could have a devastating "domino" impact on Foodora. Commenting on the leaked email, Transport Workers’ Union national secretary Tony Sheldon says Foodora has been "caught out".

CORPORATES
FOODORA, TRANSPORT WORKERS’ UNION, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION

Inflation Expectations down again in March before Federal Budget in early May

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 30-Apr-18

Australians aged +14 expect inflation of 4.3% per year over the next two years, according to the Roy Morgan Inflation Expectations Index for March 2018. This is down 0.1% from a month ago, the second straight monthly fall, and also down 0.1% from March 2017. Inflation Expectations have now fallen for two consecutive months for the first time since June 2017 and are lower year over year for the first time since December 2016. Following these consecutive decreases Inflation Expectations are now well below the seven-year average of 5.0%. Analysing Inflation Expectations by political affiliation shows that ALP supporters are driving the fall, with the Inflation Expectations of L-NP supporters unchanged on a year ago and Greens supporters now with slightly higher Inflation Expectations.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Candidate’s plan to exhume 6000 market bodies

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Original article by Clay Lucas
The Age – Page: 11 : 27-Apr-18

Melbourne lord mayoral candidate Gary Morgan has pledged to exhume upwards of 6,000 skeletons buried under the Queen Victoria Market carpark if he wins the upcoming election. Morgan said the skeletons would be DNA tested, and their descendants would be allowed to decide where they should be buried. Morgan, who was one of six candidates taking part in a forum at the Melbourne Press Club, said exhuming the skeletons would enable an above-ground car park to be moved underground instead, with a park to be put on the surface. Other campaign promises aired at the forum included a proposal by Labor candidate Jennifer Yang to ban alcohol at the Town Hall.

CORPORATES
MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL, MELBOURNE PRESS CLUB, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, PROPERTY COUNCIL OF VICTORIA

PM splurges on projects to soothe WA’s anger over GST carve-up

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 27-Apr-18

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has offered to give Western Australia a $A187 million top-up goods and services tax payment. The money is to be spent on expanding or refurbishing three hospitals, while Turnbull is also expected to announce funding for extra train stations and a road bypass in outer Perth suburbs. The Liberal Party currently holds 11 of the 16 federal seats in WA, but five are held with a margin of less than seven per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

ACTU calls for boost to Fair Work’s powers

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 27-Apr-18

ACTU secretary Sally McManus says the Fair Work Commission should be able to order the compulsory arbitration of industrial disputes, as part of a broader increase in its powers. McManus argues that the FWC has become ineffective and there is a need to strengthen its powers to address issues such as wage theft, increases in the minimum wage and changes to industry award conditions such as the addition of paid domestic violence leave.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, ACTU

Labor sticks to high tax strategy

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Tom McIlroy, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 27-Apr-18

Labor intends to retain its policy of increasing the highest marginal tax rate by two per cent to 49 per cent, which it announced in 2017 after the Federal Government opted not to extend the temporary deficit levy. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen says the Opposition is still of the view that it is inappropriate to limit tax relief to people on high incomes. Treasurer Scott Morrison says increasing the tax burden on high income-earners and business owners could impact on economic growth and the labour market.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT