INCOME TAX – AUSTRALIA

Tax cuts to soon disappear as budget relies on workers to recover from COVID-19

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Original article by Shane Wright
The Age – Page: Online : 22-Sep-21

Analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office shows that ‘bracket creep’ will erode the benefits of the federal government’s personal income tax cuts over the next decade. The PBO has forecast that people with annual income of $20,000 to $50,000 face an increase of 6.6 per cent in their average tax rate by 2031-32, while those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 will pay an extra three per cent. People earning $96,000 to $160,000 a year are the only ones who will be paying a lower average tax rate. The final stage of the income tax cuts package will take effect in mid-2024.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE

Don’t trust Labor to cut high-income tax: Treasurer

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 14-Jul-21

Labor leader Anthony Albanese says the party will decide its stance on the stage-three income tax cuts at "an appropriate time". He adds that the COVID-19 pandemic is Labor’s top priority at present. Labor is expected to formally commit to retaining the legislated tax cuts if it wins the next federal election, after the issue was discussed by the party’s leadership group in recent days. However, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Labor has consistently opposed the Coalition’s tax policy and it cannot be trusted to honour any commitment regarding the stage-three tax cuts.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Taxes down, super up from today

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 1-Jul-21

The corporate tax rate for small and medium enterprises with turnover of less than $50m will be reduced by one per cent to 25 per cent on 1 July. Other changes that take effect at the start of the new financial year include an extension of the low- and middle-income tax offset and an increase in the superannuation guarantee from 9.5 per cent to 10 per cent. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia estimates that the super change will boost the retirement income of the average worker by about $19,000. New measures aimed at first-home buyers also take effect on 1 July.

CORPORATES
THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Lower corporate taxes vital to growth

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Original article by Tom Dusevic
The Australian – Page: 2 : 30-Jun-21

The Business Council of Australia has released a discussion paper which calls for an overhaul of the nation’s tax system. The BCA contends that tax revenue is too heavily skewed toward the largest companies and the three per cent of individuals who pay the highest personal income tax, and the tax system must evolve in line with a changing economy. BCA CEO Jennifer Westacott says the 30 per cent company tax rate in particular needs to be reviewed, given that the OECD and the Group of Seven have proposed a global minimum corporate tax rate of just 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, GROUP OF SEVEN (G-7)

ALP warms to $130bn tax cuts

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Original article by Geoff Chambers, Greg Brown, Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-May-21

Labor is finalising the tax policy that it will take to the next election, and there are indications that it may support the federal government’s stage-three tax cuts. Labor’s caucus is divided over the issue of the tax cuts, which will benefit high-income earners in particular; however, there is growing support for the tax cuts among senior Labor MPs, who are concerned about a potential voter backlash at the next election over any changes to a tax package that has already been legislated. Labor is not expected to retain the government’s Low and Middle Income Tax Offset, which was intended to be temporary.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Battle over high-income tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 13-May-21

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has defended the decision to extend the low and middle income tax offset for another year in the May 2021 Budget. He argues that the tax offset will support aggregate demand and job creation, while he has not ruled out extending it again if circumstances warrant such a move. However, Frydenberg contends that the tax offset was never intended to be permanent and must end before the legislated stage-three income tax cuts take effect in 2024. Labor has not yet committed to supporting the tax cuts, which will benefit people on high incomes in particular.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Business calls to fast-track tax cuts

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 2 : 26-Apr-21

The third stage of the federal government’s income tax cuts package is slated to take effect from 1 July 2024. Business Council of Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott says the government should consider bringing forward the tax cuts in order to boost the economy and create jobs in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Australian Council of Social Service CEO Cassandra Goldie recently called for the third-stage tax cuts to be dropped, arguing that they will benefit people on high incomes the most.

CORPORATES
BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE

Aussie workers among highest taxed in OECD

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 1-May-20

New figures show that workers in OECD member nations had an average income tax rate of 15.8 per cent in 2019. However, Australian workers on the average wage paid an income tax rate of 23.6 per cent. Denmark, Iceland and Belgium were the only OECD nations that had a higher average income tax rate. Grant Wardell-Johnson of KPMG notes that personal income tax accounts for nearly half of Australia’s tax base.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Tax on income, profit world’s second highest

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 6-Dec-19

Australian companies are paying the third-highest share of tax to governments of OECD countries, according to a new tax report from the OECD. It also shows that personal income tax accounts for 40.3 per cent of total government revenue. The report highlights Australia’s heavy reliance on taxes on property, personal income and business profits, and will put pressure on the federal government to undertake major tax reform in order to stimulate the economy.

CORPORATES
ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

$9b tax hole linked to Airbnb-style deals

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 6-Nov-19

The Australian Taxation Office estimates that some property owners have undeclared income of more than $70,000 a year in earnings from short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb. This has contributed to an income tax shortfall of around $9bn. The ATO has used data-matching technology to compare income from tax returns with financial records provided by rental platforms. The ATO will write to home owners asking them to review their tax return, their income earned and the expenses they have claimed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, STAYZ PTY LTD, HOMEAWAY.COM INCORPORATED, FLIPKEY, BOOKING.COM (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, IBISWORLD PTY LTD, BNBGUARD