POLITICAL PARTIES – AUSTRALIA – PLATFORMS

Shorten’s $34b super gaffe

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Original article by Andrew Tillett, Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 17-Apr-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten used a press conference on 16 April to state that Labor will not increase existing taxes on superannuation or introduce new taxes if it wins the federal election. Shadow finance minister Jim Chalmers later clarified Shorten’s comments, stating that he meant there will be no changes to super policy apart from those that have been previously announced. Labor has in fact previously announced four proposed changes to super policy. The Coalition has estimated that these reforms could increase tax revenue by about $34bn over a decade.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, GRATTAN INSTITUTE

Labor flags R&D reprieve on clawbacks

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 20 : 16-Apr-19

Shadow innovation minister Kim Carr says Labor will look at how to lift expenditure on research and development to three per cent of GDP by 2030 if it wins the federal election. He notes that R&D expenditure is currently at 1.8 per cent of GDP, compared with 2.1 per cent in 2013. Carr says Labor will seek to have start-ups exempted from the R&D tax incentive clawbacks that impacted the technology sector in late 2018, while he claims that over 1,000 scientists have lost their jobs under the current government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Why Morrison needs to turn up the fear factor on Labor

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 29 : 16-Apr-19

The Coalition’s best chance of winning the federal election may to be to launch a fear campaign against key Labor policies, such as its franking credit reforms and changes to the negative gearing regime. The latter policy will almost certainly result in lower house values over time; the Coalition should pitch its fear campaign at home buyers who are in or are close to being in negative equity, as well as small business owners who use their homes as capital. However, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is unlikely to seek to cash in on the fear factor until it is far too late.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Labor taxes could hinder economy

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 16-Apr-19

The consensus among economists would seem to be that the Coalition’s tax policies will be better for the economy over the medium- to long-term than those of Labor. However, Labor’s short-term tax cuts for low-income earners could provide a stimulus for the economy at a time when it appears to be slowing. AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver says the impact of Labor’s tax policies will depend on what it does with the extra revenue that it raises.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, DELOITTE ACCESS ECONOMICS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Free blood tests: Labor raises health pressure

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Original article by Simon Benson
The Australian – Page: 1 : 16-Apr-19

Healthcare is set to continue to dominate the federal election campaign, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten to announce an expansion of Labor’s cancer care package on 16 April. Shorten will commit to providing free blood tests for cancer patients and older Australians, at a cost of $200m. This is in addition to Labor’s previously-announced $2.3bn cancer treatment plan. Meanwhile, Labor has rejected suggestions of a $5.8bn funding shortfall for its cancer policy, stating that the Health Department has advised that it has not costed the policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HEALTH, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Tax cut plan needs $40b off spending

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Original article by John Kehoe, Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 16-Apr-19

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann is confident that the Coalition can reduce government spending to about 23.6 per cent of GDP over the next decade, as outlined in the April 2019 Budget. Danielle Wood of the Grattan Institute warns that this would require spending to be cut by $40bn a year in order to finance tax cuts and retain a surplus. Meanwhile, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has described the second and third stages of the government’s tax cuts package as "utterly unsustainable, unaffordable and irresponsible". Labor supports the first stage of the tax cuts, and Bowen says further cuts will be considered in the context of each Budget.

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

CFMEU’s election windfall

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Weekend Australian – Page: 18 & 19 : 15-Apr-19

The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining & Energy Union has been fined some $7.9m in total since 2016, due to legal action instigated by the Australian Building & Construction Commission. The CFMMEU will benefit significantly if Labor wins the federal election and pushes ahead with plans to scrap the ABCC. The militant union and its officials would face much lower financial penalties for breaches of the Fair Work Act, while Labor would also abolish the national construction code. Meanwhile, employers’ groups are not unduly concerned about a potential conflict of interest for shadow workplace relations minister Brendan O’Connor, whose brother is the national president of the CFMMEU.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF JOBS AND SMALL BUSINESS, AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (INCORPORATED), MASTER BUILDERS AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

Tax gamble hits most workers

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Original article by Paul Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Apr-19

The Coalition has released data which suggests that low- and middle-income earners will be better off under the government’s tax policy than that of Labor. The tables indicate that people with annual income of $80,000 in 2024-25 will be $875 a year better off under the government rather than Labor; this rises to $2,125 a yearly for those who earn $100,000 and $5,705 a year for those whose income is $140,000. The figures are based on expectations that all three stages of the government’s tax cuts will be passed, reducing the marginal tax rate for the average worker to 30 per cent. Labor opposes the second and third stages of the tax cuts.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Shorten digs in over franking

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 15-Apr-19

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says that providing cash refunds for excess franking credits currently costs $6bn a year, and this is projected to rise to $8bn in coming years. Shorten has described the franking credits system as a "gift" for people who have paid no income tax, and the money should instead be used to fund services such as healthcare. Meanwhile, shadow treasurer Chris Bowen will use a speech on 15 April to argue that the Coalition’s proposed income tax rate of 30 per cent for most workers is unfair and regressive, and that the third stage of its tax cuts package could see the Budget return to deficit in 2024-25.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SOCIAL SERVICE, CENTRE ALLIANCE

Tax attack kicks off campaign

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 12-Apr-19

The federal government has released Treasury modelling which suggests that tax revenue would rise by $387bn over the next decade if Labor wins the election on 18 May. Treasury estimates that Labor’s plans to scrap the second and third stages of the government’s income tax cuts package would increase the tax take by $230bn, which is consistent with Labor’s own estimate of $226bn. The modelling also shows that Australia’s tax-to-GDP ratio would rise to a record 25.9 per cent over the next decade if Labor wins the election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET