TAXATION – GOVERNMENT POLICY – AUSTRALIA

Costello warns on GST change

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 29-Oct-14

The issue of the goods and services tax (GST) rate is again under scrutiny, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott renewing his push for tax reform. However, former treasurer Peter Costello believes that any change in the scope or rate of the GST should be conditional on the scrapping of other taxes, rather than merely being used to increase government revenue. Abbott says he will only proceed with changes to the GST if it is fully supported by the states

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

Abbott puts GST hike on the table

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Original article by Laura Tingle, Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 27-Oct-14

Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten says he will oppose any push by Prime Minister Tony Abbott to increase the GST rate. Abbott has indicated that tax reform may be on the agenda for the next federal election, including an increase in the state governments’ indirect tax base. The states currently derive about $A54bn of their annual income from the GST, but some have urged a more equitable distribution of GST revenue

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

House tax change may backfire: HIA

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Original article by Robert Harley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 22-Sep-14

The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has argued against the dropping of negative gearing of investment real esate. In a research paper to be released on 22 September 2014, the HIA said that housing costs would be increased if negative gearing was reduced without changing other taxes. Critics of negative gearing claim that it increases the cost of housing. The report found that stamp duty was the largest tax distortion on housing

CORPORATES
HOUSING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION LIMITED, INDEPENDENT ECONOMICS

Tax review urgent, warns Hendy

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 16-Sep-14

The Australian Government has been urged to pursue a wide-ranging reform agenda. Liberal Party MP Peter Hendy has called for reforms to the tax industrial relations regimes. He argues that the domestic economy is vulnerable to a range of external shocks, particularly the uncertain outlook for the Chinese economy. He also says the Government should commence its review of the tax white paper immediately

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS REMUNERATION GROUP INCORPORATED

Mining tax deal delays 12pc super until 2025

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Sep-14

On 2 September 2014, the Australian Government finally succeeded in repealing the minerals resource rent tax in the Senate, after striking a deal with the Palmer United Party. The superannuation guarantee will now not be increased again from its current level of 9.5% until mid-2021. It will then reach the 12% target set by the previous federal government in its mining sector tax plans by 2025. Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey says the Australian Labor Party could have averted the delay, which will reduce the retirement savings pool by $A128bn over 10 years, by supporting the repeal

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA

Company tax uncompetitive

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Original article by Mark Ludlow, Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Aug-14

The Australian Government plans a 1.5 per cent reduction in the 30 per cent corporate tax rate by the end of 2014-15. However, economist John Edwards has called for a more aggressive reduction in the corporate tax rate in order to make the nation more competitive internationally. Switzerland’s company tax rate of just 18 per cent was a key factor in CSL’s decision to invest $A500m in a new factory in that country rather than Australia

CORPORATES
CSL LIMITED – ASX CSL, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20)

Swan admits MRRT revenue failure

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 19-Aug-14

The former Australian Government revealed details of its proposed Resources Super Profit Tax on 2 May 2010. However, a book written by ex-treasurer Wayne Swan shows that the mining sector was only told about plans for the tax several days earlier. Swan also notes that generous deductions granted to mining companies for investing in their mining operations were a major contributor to the lower-than-expected revenue from the minerals resource rent tax

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, XSTRATA AG

Tax relaxed on share schemes

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Original article by Fleur Anderson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 1-Aug-14

The Australian Government plans to wind back changes to the tax treatment of employee share schemes. The reforms that were introduced in 2009 require members of such schemes to pay their tax liability upfront rather than being able to defer it for up to 10 years. Start-up businesses in particular have been affected by the regime. The Government may replace it with some aspects of the employee share scheme regime that is in place in the UK

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF COMMUNICATIONS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, LOCAL MEASURE, ONLINE MEDIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, EMPLOYEE OWNERSHIP AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Hockey’s budget hole heading to $41b

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1-Apr : 17-Jul-14

The Australian Government may face resistance in the Senate to its plans to abolish some $A4bn worth of tax breaks as part of its proposal to repeal the mining tax. Two independent senators intend to vote against scrapping the tax breaks, and the defeat of this measure would be another blow for the Government, which has already faced opposition from Palmer United Party senators to several other measures that are linked to the mining tax

CORPORATES
PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY

Palmer’s $9b bombshell

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1-Apr : 8-Jul-14

Palmer United Party leader Clive Palmer on 7 July 2014 announced that its senators would vote against a further $A9.5bn worth of cuts planned by the Australian Government in the 2014-15 Budget. While agreeing to pass legislation for the repeal of the minerals resource rent tax, Palmer said programs funded with its revenue would be retained, at a cost of close to $A8bn. Similarly, the repeal of the carbon tax will not bring the proposed rise in the income tax-free threshold from $A18,200 to $A21,000. The total value of Budget initiatives now set to falter in the Senate is $A34bn

CORPORATES
PALMER UNITED PARTY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HUMAN SERVICES. MEDICARE AUSTRALIA, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT