AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

Labor to ditch $120b of tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 20-Jun-18

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says Labor will only support the first stage of the Federal Government’s personal income tax package, which is slated to take effect on 1 July. The government has ruled out legislating the first stage separately, and it requires the support of eight crossbenchers to pass its bill in the Senate. At present it has the support of seven crossbenchers, with One Nation still opposing the third stage of the tax cuts. Shorten has indicated that a future Labor government would scrap the second and third stages of the tax package if the bill is passed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Tax lost as $16bn profits go offshore

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 19 : 19-Jun-18

Profit-shifting by multinationals is estimated to cost Australia about $A5.4bn a year in foregone corporate tax revenue, according to international research. Economists from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Copenhagen concluded that Australia loses about seven per cent of its corporate tax revenue due to the practice of shifting profits to tax havens. The research is based on data from 2015, which precedes Federal Government initiatives such as its Diverted Profits Tax and the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GOOGLE INCORPORATED

Game of chicken on tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 19-Jun-18

A meeting of Labor MPs on 19 June is expected to endorse the first stage of the Federal Government’s personal income tax cuts package. However, Labor’s continued opposition to the rest of the tax package means the Government will require the support of One Nation and Centre Alliance to pass the full tax cuts in the Senate. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Treasurer Scott Morrison have again ruled out splitting the tax bill to enable the first stage of the tax cuts to proceed on 1 July.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, ONE NATION PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Senator wants end to unions’ tax-free status

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 18-Jun-18

Coalition senator Amanda Stoker says unions should no longer be exempt from paying tax, as they have a competitive advantage in business areas where they operate. She adds that about two million workers do not have choice of superannuation fund because they are required to join a union-backed industry fund. Stoker also notes that many workers are also restricted to joining one union, and unions often exploit this monopoly in enterprise bargaining negotiations. Stoker will use her maiden speech in Parliament to advocate reform.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL-NATIONAL PARTY OF QUEENSLAND, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

PM’s scheme an EIS by stealth

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Original article by Simon Benson, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Jun-18

The Federal Government’s national energy guarantee is under scrutiny after a draft final report revealed that it will be similar to an emissions intensity scheme. The Coalition’s partyroom had rejected a proposal for an EIS when it was put forward by Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg in 2016. A member of the Energy Security Board has also conceded that the NEG will effectively be an EIS "by stealth" and that it will favour companies which invest in renewable energy. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the partyroom had fully endorsed the NEG.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. ENERGY SECURITY BOARD, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL

Trade talks aim to crack Europe

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 4 : 18-Jun-18

Australia’s Trade Minister Steven Ciobo will meet with European Union trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom on 18 June, ahead of commencing formal negotiations for a free trade agreement in July. The Federal Government expects a wide range of industries to benefit from a trade deal, including farmers, car and aircraft parts makers, silicon producers, education providers and professional services firms. Ciobo says a trade deal will also boost two-way investment between Australia and the EU.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, ALMONDCO AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AIRBUS SAS, FERRARI SPA

Huawei hits back over security ban

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Jennifer Hewett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Jun-18

Huawei Australia directors have refuted suggestions that the Chinese telco’s participation in the construction of a 5G wireless network raises national security concerns. They have written to federal MPs arguing that Huawei supplies equipment for the mobile networks of Optus, Vodafone and TPG, and they have warned that the company could potentially withdraw from Australia if it is excluded from the 5G project. Huawei has also dismissed concerns about its links to the Chinese government, stressing that it is a privately-owned company.

CORPORATES
HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES COMPANY LIMITED, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, SINGTEL OPTUS PTY LTD, VODAFONE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, TPG TELECOM LIMITED – ASX TPM, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA CHINA BUSINESS COUNCIL, ZTE CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Hanson last barrier to full tax cuts

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Jun-18

Five of the Senate crossbenchers will support all three stages of the federal government’s income tax cuts package, while the two Centre Alliance senators will back the first two stages and are open to negotiation on the third. The stance of One Nation’s two remaining senators is likely to be crucial, given that the government requires the support of eight crossbenchers. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the government will not split the bill.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

$10bn hole in Shorten’s retirees plan

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Jun-18

Modelling by the Treasury has found that Labor’s proposal to scrap franking credit refunds would prompt individuals and self-managed superannuation funds to redirect their investment portfolios away from franked shares that pay dividends. This in turn would reduce the savings generated by the measure by nearly $A10bn over 10 years. Labor had estimated that the policy would save $A55.7bn over a decade, but the modelling suggests that the figure would be just $A45.8bn. Labor has already been forced to scale back its initial savings estimate of $A59bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

One Nation rebel fires parting shot

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale
The Australian – Page: 2 : 15-Jun-18

One Nation has lost the balance of power in the Senate following senator Brian Burston’s decision to quit the party and become an independent. He says the falling out over One Nation’s stance on the Federal Government’s corporate tax package contributed to his departure from the party, which will now hold just two seats in the upper house. Burston will continue to support the tax package, and he hopes One Nation’s remaining senators Pauline Hanson and Peter Georgiou will do so as well. The tax package requires the support of eight of the 10 crossbenchers.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE