TAXATION – GOVERNMENT POLICY – 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

Senators reject ALP tax grab

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Original article by Simon Benson, Michael McKenna, Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 7-May-19

Key upper house crossbenchers have rejected claims by shadow treasurer Chris Bowen that Labor will have a mandate for tax reform if it wins the federal election. Centre Alliance senator Stirling Griff contends that Labor will only have a mandate if it gains a majority in the Senate. Griff opposes Labor’s proposal to abolish cash refunds for excess dividend imputation credits, although he says Centre Alliance may be willing to negotiate regarding changes to the negative gearing regime. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson also opposes the franking credit reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, CENTRE ALLIANCE, ONE NATION PARTY, UNITED AUSTRALIA PARTY, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN CONSERVATIVES

Coalition faces hostile Senate if it wins

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 2-May-19

A re-elected Coalition government could require the support of the Greens to pass legislation in the Senate, depending on the number of crossbenchers in the upper house from 1 July. Its income tax cuts in particular would be in doubt, given the Greens’ opposition to the package. The government proposes to reconvene parliament before 30 June to capitalise on a crossbench that is likely to be more favourable to its tax cuts than the new Senate. Greens leader Richard Di Natale favours tax increases rather than tax cuts.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, THE AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE LIMITED

Top end of town pays $57bn tax

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 4 : 24-Apr-19

Data from the Australian Taxation Office shows that nearly 430,000 people had taxable income of at least $180,000 in fiscal 2017, an increase of 26 per cent since fiscal 2013. The total net tax they paid increased from $43 billion to $57bn. There was also a 17 per cent increase in the number of people with taxable income of $37,000 to $80,000, with their share of the total tax take rising from $47bn to $62bn. Tax cuts have been a key focus of the election campaign, but economics professor Richard Holden says a simpler option is to peg the tax system to wage inflation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, 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

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

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

Labor to have higher tax burden but bigger surpluses, says Bowen

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Apr-19

Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen will use his Budget reply speech on 10 April to argue that the federal government could not deliver on its tax cuts package while retaining a surplus over the next decade. He will state that the government’s projected surpluses in coming years are based on spending cuts elsewhere in the Budget starting in the 2023-24 financial year. Bowen will also note that tax revenue would be higher under a Labor government, but it would still be low compared to other OECD nations and some previous Coalition governments.

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