BUDGET – AUSTRALIA

Hold-out senators set test for tax bill

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 8-May-18

Centre Alliance senator Rex ­Patrick says the contents of the May 2018 Budget may determine whether himself and colleague Stirling Griff hold further talks with the Federal Government regarding its corporate tax cuts package. Factors such as a clear strategy for a return to surplus and assurances that spending on social services will not be reduced in future years to finance the tax cuts are among Centre Alliance’s priorities in the Budget. The company tax package requires an additional two votes in the Senate.

CORPORATES
CENTRE ALLIANCE, NICK XENOPHON TEAM, ONE NATION PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Seniors big winners in budget lift

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Benson, Rick Morton, David Uren
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-May-18

The Federal Government’s May 2018 Budget will feature a range of measures targeted at older Australians. Amongst other things, the government is expected to provide funding for an additional 20,000 people to receive in-home care, while a scheme that enables retirees to remain in the workforce without affecting their pension entitlements is tipped to be expanded. Meanwhile, people on low and middle incomes are expected to receive a tax cut of about $A10 a week.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF SOCIAL SERVICES

Morrison locks in tax limits

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-May-18

The Federal Government’s May 2018 Budget is expected to restrict tax cuts to people with taxable income of less than $A87,000. The tax cuts are likely to be delivered via the low-income tax offset, while Treasurer Scott Morrison has indicated that people on higher incomes are likely to receive tax cuts by 2024. Morrison stresses that the tax cuts in the 2018 Budget will be real and affordable. Meanwhile, the Government will use the Budget to formally adopt a tax-to-GDP ratio of 23.9 per cent, while it is tipped to forecast a modest surplus in 2019-20, which is one year ahead of schedule.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Business pushes its case for restraint

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 4 : 3-May-18

A report released by the Business Council of Australia ahead of the Federal Government’s May 2018 Budget warns that achieving a surplus in 2020-21 is highly dependent on commodity prices remaining strong. The BCA also says Australia faces the prospect of large Budget deficits in the future unless action is taken to boost productivity. The employers’ group notes that growth in productivity has averaged just 1.2 per cent over the last decade.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Call for infrastructure boost, without tricks

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

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

We’re sticking to full tax cut plan: Morrison

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 18-Apr-18

Treasurer Scott Morrison has ruled out seeking a deal with crossbench senator Derryn Hinch to secure passage of its corporate tax package. Hinch has indicated that he may be open to supporting tax cuts for companies with turnover of up to $A500m, but Morrison has stressed that the Federal Government will persist with its policy of progressively reducing the tax rate for all companies. Meanwhile, Morrison says the May 2018 Budget will be "responsible", and he has rejected suggestions by National Party leader Michael McCormack that it will include some "goodies" for taxpayers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE

Budget blitz: PM signs off on key measures early

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Simon Benson, Greg Brown
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 10-Apr-18

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull still believes that he can win the next federal election, despite consistently underperforming in public opinion polls. He argues that polling is not always reliable, and notes that most polls suggest that the outcome of the next election will be very close. Meanwhile, senior government sources have indicated that Turnbull has endorsed the majority of policy initiatives in the May 2018 Budget, including personal income tax cuts. There had been dissent between Turnbull and his Cabinet colleagues regarding measures in the 2017 Budget.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NEWSPOLL, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Plans to cut company tax responsible – Morrison

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 19-Feb-18

Treasurer Scott Morrison has downplayed concerns expressed by Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe about the potential impact of the Federal Government’s proposed company tax cuts. Morrison has stressed that Budget projections have already taken into account the long-term effect of the tax cuts, adding that the Government will not implement any policies that could threaten its timetable for returning the Budget to surplus. The Government also wants to include personal income tax cuts in the May 2018 Budget, again without risking the target date for a surplus.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY, BIRINYI ASSOCIATES, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX

Budget gets Trump bump

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jacob Greber, Tom McIlroy, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Jan-18

The Australian Government’s May 2018 Budget may take into account the impact of the Trump administration’s tax reforms when restating its forecasts for global economic growth. The mid-year update in December maintained Treasury’s current forecast of global economic growth of 3.5 per cent in 2018. However, Treasury may respond to the International Monetary Fund’s upgrade of its global growth forecasts by upwardly revising its own guidance.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY. UNITED STATES STUDIES CENTRE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, RESMED INCORPORATED – ASX RMD