BUSINESS AND POLITICS – AUSTRALIA

Stamp duty ‘unfair and inefficient’

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Original article by Rebecca Thistleton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 47 : 2-Apr-15

Property Council of Australia CEO Ken Morrison has called for government action on the issue of stamp duty, describing it as an inefficient and volatile tax. He argues that the best option for replacing stamp duty would be to increase the goods and services tax and widen its scope. He has also suggested the option of a broad-based land tax, of the type that is being introduced in the Australian Capital Territory to replace stamp duty

CORPORATES
PROPERTY COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY. DEPT OF THE CHIEF MINISTER

Dividend credit debate splits business, investors

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Original article by Vesna Poljak, Shaun Drummond, Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 31-Mar-15

Changes to the dividend imputation system are among the reforms canvassed in the Australian Government’s tax discussion paper, which was released in late March 2015. Wilson Asset Management chairman Geoff Wilson says scrapping dividend imputation credits may result in a sharp fall in yields for investors, while Fidelity fund manager Paul Taylor warns that it would result in poor decisions on the allocation of capital. However, some observers are in favour of reviewing dividend imputation

CORPORATES
WILSON ASSET MANAGEMENT, FIDELITY INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, CORPORATE TAX ASSOCIATION, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, GROUP OF 100, BUSINESS COALITION FOR TAX REFORM, WOOLWORTHS LIMITED – ASX WOW, WAVESTONE CAPITAL PTY LTD, CARDNO LIMITED – ASX CDD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Big pressure to scrap small firms tax cut

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 24-Mar-15

The Council of Small Business Australia has urged the Federal Government to abandon a proposed 1.5 per cent tax cut for small businesses. CEO Peter Strong argues that the tax cut that has been proposed for the May 2016 Budget will do little to improve business confidence. The council instead favours the introduction of an accelerated depreciation rate of 150 per cent for the sector, a move which is also supported by several government MPs

CORPORATES
COUNCIL OF SMALL BUSINESS ORGANISATIONS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE

Turnbull swings back at Murdoch

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Original article by Dominic White, Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 17-Mar-15

Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull insists that Australians have the right to watch major sporting events on free-to-air TV. His declaration, made on 16 March 2015, was not well received by media magnate Rupert Murdoch, who wrote on Twitter that Turnbull was motivated by the desire to protect the interests of his "buddies" at Nine Entertainment Company. Turnbull’s most important recommendation is the abolition of the "reach rule", which prevents metropolitan TV broadcasters from merging with regional TV stations

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, TWITTER INCORPORATED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, FREE TV AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MINTER ELLISON, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM

Turnbull risks wrath of moguls

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Original article by Dominic White, Jared Lynch
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 16-Mar-15

Southern Cross Media Group CEO Rhys Holleran and Fairfax Media CEO Greg Hywood are among the industry executives who support cross-media ownership reforms proposed by Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull. These including abolishing the reach rule and the two-out-of-three rule. However, Turnbull’s proposal to retain the anti-siphoning list for sports broadcasts has attracted criticism from Foxtel CEO Richard Freudenstein and News Corp Australia CEO Julian Clarke

CORPORATES
SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, NEWS CORP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, TEN NETWORK HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TEN, NINE NETWORK AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, WIN CORPORATION PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, NETFLIX INCORPORATED, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, PRIME MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX PRT, DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

PM’s $500m payoff to SA, Vic industry

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 11-Mar-15

The Australian Government will retain a $A500m industry assistance scheme for the local car industry, despite its impact on the Budget bottom line. It wants to ensure that automotive component makers remain financially viable until the local car manufacturing ends. GM Holden has indicated that the Government’s support for the scheme will increase the likelihood that the car maker will keep its plants open until the scheduled shutdown, while Toyota says it definitely will not close its plant before the end of 2017

CORPORATES
GM HOLDEN LIMITED, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY AND SCIENCE, FORD MOTOR COMPANY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN MANUFACTURING WORKERS’ UNION, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED

Murray shoots down Hockey’s super kite

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Original article by Fleur Anderson, Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 11-Mar-15

Business leaders have expressed reservations about the Australian Government’s proposal for superannuation to be used to finance home ownership. Financial system inquiry chairman David Murray and AMP CEO Craig Meller are among those who oppose the plan due to its potential effects on the nation’s retirement system. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann also spoke out against such a proposal in October 2014

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, MONASH UNIVERSITY, GEM CAPITAL FINANCIAL ADVICE, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

Business fears a return to union chaos

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Mar-15

Fair Work Building & Construction’s powers to take action over unlawful conduct by unions are slated to expire at the end of May 2015. The Australian Government faces resistance from the Opposition and the Australian Greens to extend these powers. Groups such as the Australian Industry Union and Master Builders Australia are concerned about the impact on the construction industry if the sunset clause introduced by the Australian Labor Party takes effect

CORPORATES
FAIR WORK BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, PALMER UNITED PARTY

Aussie John: end super tax perks to save us

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Original article by Jacob Greber, Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 23-Feb-15

Data from the Department of the Treasury suggests that superannuation tax concessions cost about $A30bn a year. There is a growing push for these tax breaks to be scaled back or abolished, particularly for people with significant savings. Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond suggests that some wealthy people may be exploiting the super system. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia has also urged action to address the issue in its pre-Budget submission

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF CANBERRA. NATIONAL CENTRE FOR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC MODELLING

Jobless jump points to rate cut

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 13-Feb-15

The Australian economy shed more than 12,000 jobs in January 2015, with the unemployment rate rising to 6.4 per cent. The jobless rate’s rise to its highest level in 12 years weighed heavily on the Australian dollar, which reached a low of $US0.7662 on 12 February. The data also prompted speculation of further interest rate cuts, while business groups say the figures demonstrate the need for industrial relations reforms

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN GREENS