POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Property taxes will hit safe Labor seats

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 10-May-19

The Real Estate Institute of New South Wales has urged Labor to reconsider its proposed negative gearing and capital gains tax reforms. CEO Tim McKibbin says most of the 50 suburbs across Sydney that will be hardest-hit by the reforms are in Labor-held electorates. The median values of rental properties in some of these suburbs have fallen sharply in the last year, and the REISW warns that Labor’s reforms could result in a further decline.

CORPORATES
THE REAL ESTATE INSTITUTE OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, HERRON TODD WHITE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Trust tax to bring in $2b a year: Labor

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 9-May-19

The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that taxing distributions from family trusts at 30 per cent would raise $7.7bn over four years and $26.9bn over 10 years. This compares with Labor’s forecasts of $4.1bn and $17.2bn respectively when it announced the proposal in mid-2017. Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has also indicated that Labor’s plan to cap tax deduction for managing tax affairs will raise $375m over four years and $1.6bn over a decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

‘Labor won’t lead revolution of reform’

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Original article by Michael Roddan, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-May-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has indicated that Labor will "modernise the economy" if it wins the federal election. Former IFM Investors chairman Garry Weaven says a Labor government would not pursue significant economic reform, adding that "revolutionary" reform is not necessary. Robert Carling of the Centre for Independent Studies agrees that a Shorten government would not seek to undertake reforms on the scale of those implemented by Labor under former prime ministers Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD, THE CENTRE FOR INDEPENDENT STUDIES LIMITED, ACTU, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Kelty in accord with $10bn childcare vow

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 9-May-19

Labor’s proposal to provide child care workers with a taxpayer-funded wage increase is supported by former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty. He argues that child care workers are "grossly underpaid", and the cost of the policy will not have a significant impact on wages across the economy. Kelty has also downplayed concerns that the policy would prompt employees in other sectors to seek a similar wage subsidy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU

Plan to silence enemies in media

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Original article by Chris Merritt
The Australian – Page: 8 : 8-May-19

Media lawyer Kevin Lynch says the Australian Greens’ communications policy appears to be targeting the party’s real or perceived enemies in the media sector. Amongst other things, the policy advocates an inquiry to address the issue of media concentration and the introduction of a public interest veto regarding acquisitions in the sector. Greens leader Richard Di Natale has also confirmed that the party’s proposal for new criminal laws on hate speech is aimed at the broader media industry rather than just the three broadcasters who have been named.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

We can withstand a downturn: Frydenberg

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-May-19

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is confident that the Australian economy would be resilient in the event of a significant downturn in the global economy. Frydenberg notes amongst other things that the tax cuts in the April 2019 Budget will boost consumer spending and economic activity, and he believes that the Coalition’s policy settings are sufficient without having to pursue stimulatory measures such as bringing forward the full tax cuts package. Frydenberg also dismisses suggestions that legislating the tax cuts is the Coalition’s only real policy agenda.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CENTRE ALLIANCE, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, ADANI MINING PTY LTD

No guarantee for PM’s $158b income tax cuts

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 8-May-19

The support of Senate crossbenchers may be crucial for the government to pass its signature tax cuts package if it wins the federal election. Centre Alliance has committed to supporting the first two stages of the tax cuts, although Senator Griff Stirling has indicated that the party may be open to backing the third stage. Senate aspirant Clive Palmer says his party’s support for the tax cuts is subject to several conditions. The government may have to split the tax bill to secure its passage through the upper house, given that Labor supports only the stage one tax cuts.

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

Childcare pay rise a carrot for union

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Original article by Rick Morton
The Australian – Page: 4 : 7-May-19

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has defended Labor’s proposal to provide early childhood educators with a taxpayer-funded pay rise, saying the policy has been costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office. Treasury Josh Frydenberg in turn has argued that the policy has been costed on giving a pay rise to 100,000 child care workers, whereas the sector employs 195,000 people. He has claimed that the policy is merely aimed at increasing union membership.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Labor weighs boosting union powers

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 7-May-19

Shadow workplace relations minister Brendan O’Connor has indicated that unions’ right to entry laws could be relaxed if Labor wins the federal election. The reforms could include recommendations made in the Boland review of workplace safety laws; amongst other things, the review proposed waiving the need for a union official to have a workplace entry permit if the visit is related to industrial safety. This would benefit the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union; some of its officials have been denied entry permits under the Fair Work Act’s ‘fit and proper person’ test.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, ACTU, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA

Morrison and Shorten, take note: Trump shows what enterprising tax settings can do for jobs

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 33 : 7-May-19

Between 2019 and 2025, the cumulative tax bill of people earning more than $200,000 a year will be more than $33,000 higher under Labor than the Coalition, according to a tax calculator on Self-Employed Australia’s website. Low-income earners who receive $15,000 worth of franking credits each year would also be worse off under Labor. The tax policies of Australia’s major political parties are in contrast to the personal and company tax cuts of US President Donald Trump. Some 263,000 jobs were created in the US in April and the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since December 1969, while there has been average hourly earnings growth of 3.2 per cent over the last year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, SELF-EMPLOYED AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT