BUDGET – AUSTRALIA

Budget could balance this financial year

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 15-Oct-18

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has indicated that the Budget bottom line was $6.6bn ahead of expectations in the first two months of 2018-19. The federal government has forecast a Budget deficit of $14.5bn for 2018-19, and the deficit was $8.9bn for the 12 months to 31 August. The government expects to achieve a surplus in 2019-20, but economist Chris Richardson says it could potentially do so in 2018-19. However, he says this will depend on the health of the economy and spending restraint by the government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Surplus in sight ahead of election

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Original article by David Uren, Rick Morton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 26-Sep-18

The Treasury has released figures showing that the Budget deficit for 2017-18 was $10.1bn, which equates to just 0.6 per cent of GDP. Treasury had forecast in May that the deficit for 2017-18 would be $18.2bn, and the initial forecast in the May 2017 Budget was for a deficit of $29.1bn. Factors such as jobs growth, a higher tax take and reduced government spending contributed to the improvement in the Budget position from a deficit of $33.2bn in 2016-17. However, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has downplayed suggestions of a potential return to surplus in 2018-19.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Coalition picks spend over surplus

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Sep-18

The federal government will release the final Budget figures for 2017-18 on 25 September, which are expected to show that the deficit for the financial year was around $10bn. The government is set to retain its target date of 2019-20 for a return to a surplus, and sources have indicated that an earlier return to surplus is possible but unlikely. The government has announced additional expenditure of $3.8bn over four years since handing down the May 2018 Budget, and around $20bn over the next decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Bottom line pushes budget closer to surplus

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 27-Aug-18

The Australian Government’s May 2018 Budget had forecast a 2017-18 deficit of $14.5bn. Economists expect the final figure – which will be disclosed by the end of September – to be slightly below this. Company tax receipts for the full year are likely to be in line with Budget projections, although overall government revenue was tracking slightly below forecasts during the first 11 months of the financial year. Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says incoming Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is likely to face some revenue challenges in the medium-term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, S&P GLOBAL INCORPORATED

Deloitte claims tax cuts are unaffordable

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Original article by Ben Potter
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 23-Jul-18

Deloitte Access Economics’ June Business Outlook contends that the Budget is not yet healthy enough for the federal government to commit to long-term tax cuts. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen claims that Deloitte’s comments are an indictment of the government’s tax plans, which he contends will increase the prospect that more cuts to health and education will be needed over the next 10 years. Deloitte notes that a slump in property and a decline in the Chinese economy could bring about an end to the current revenue surge that the Budget is enjoying.

CORPORATES
DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Cash ban lacks hard evidence: ACCI

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 5-Jul-18

The Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry has questioned whether the Federal Government’s proposal to limit cash payments to $10,000 will be effective in combating the cash economy. The ACCI has warned that the ban, which was announced in the May 2018 Budget and is based on the recommendations of the black economy taskforce, could potentially undermine the integrity of the financial system. Australian Bankers’ Association CEO Anna Bligh has called for a sufficient transition period for bank customers to adapt to the proposed policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

$1bn increase in company tax take boosts the case for reform

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 6 : 28-Jun-18

The Federal Government has released data showing that company tax revenue for 2017-18 will be $A1.1bn higher than had been forecast in its May 2018 Budget. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has also advised that company tax revenue for 2017-18 is expected to be $A9.2bn higher than the $A78.6bn that the government had forecast in its Budget update in late 2016. Cormann also revealed that a crackdown on tax avoidance has resulted in the recovery of $A2.7bn in unpaid taxes from multinationals.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

$1 trillion debt bomb buried in budget papers

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 21-Jun-18

Analysis of budget documents shows that the net financial liabilities of Australia’s federal, state and territory governments will top $A944bn in June 2021, which is equivalent to about $A36,000 per person. Infrastructure projects will be a major contributor to the debt blowout, with New South Wales and Victoria unveiling plans to ramp up spending on infrastructure over the next four years. Meanwhile, credit ratings agency Moody’s has expressed concern about the NSW government’s increased debt in its 2018 Budget, warning that it could affect the state’s credit profile.

CORPORATES
MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INFRASTRUCTURE AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA, QUEENSLAND. TREASURY

Aunty coy about how budget affects news

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Original article by Dana McCauley
The Australian – Page: 2 : 24-May-18

The ABC’s CFO Louise Higgins has warned that the Federal Government’s looming funding freeze will force the public broadcaster to decide which services it continues to provide. The three-year funding freeze announced in the May 2018 Budgets takes effect in mid-2019, and Higgins says the ABC will negotiate with the government in the interim. Meanwhile, SBS CEO Michael Ebeid says there is no scope for further joint cost-saving initiatives by the public broadcasters.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, SPECIAL BROADCASTING SERVICE (SBS), AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS

PRRT changes may be leverage on One Nation

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 18-May-18

The Federal Government requires the support of at least one additional Senate crossbencher for its company tax package. Proposed changes to the Petroleum Resources Rent Tax were absent from the May 2018 Budget, and sources have confirmed that this was partially to provide the government with a bargaining tool amid concerns that One Nation may back down on its support for the tax cuts. The changes to the PRRT would only affect future oil and gas projects, but industry players want the reforms to be enacted before the next election in case Labor wins and opts to subject existing projects to the new regime.

CORPORATES
ONE NATION PARTY