Chris Richardson, chief economist at Deloitte Access Economic, said the government’s tax measures were a step in the right direction but might not be vote-winners.
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As the official announcement of an early election draws near, a resurgent opposition Labor party has been piling pressure on with populist policies.
Budget papers state that the government will boost information sharing between the ATO and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). The government last week awarded a A$50 billion contract for 12 French-designed submarines to be built in South Australia over coming decades.
“Those tax cuts are genuinely good”, he said.
The government will create a A$5bn (US$3.8bn; £2.6bn) fund for critical infrastructure in cities, Mr Morrison announced on Monday. But they lose out through reduced access to generous superannuation tax concessions for the most wealthy.
These are all relatively modest ideas.
It is also refusing to consider changes to negative gearing laws, which allows property investors to write off losses on private housing on tax.
The crackdown on aggressive tax minimisation by multinational corporations was spurred on by a parliamentary inquiry which thrust the practices of a number of tech giants, including Google, Apple and Microsoft, into the spotlight.
Mr Finlay said he accepted backpackers had to pay tax when in Australia on working holidays but the government’s system needed to support them arriving.
There will nearly certainly be small cuts in the company tax rate and those earning more than A$80,000 will also benefit as the earning threshold for the second-highest tax bracket is pushed higher.
Delivering his budget on Tuesday, Morrison emphasized Australia’s need to transition from heavy reliance on mining exports to economic activity based on innovation and ideas.
Speaking on Sky News last night, Bowen said Labor supports lowering the corporate tax rate for small businesses but opposes cutting company tax for all businesses.
To that end, it’s promising a A$5bn subsidised dental plan and an extra A$2.9bn for hospitals between 2017 and 2020.
The Government will provide an estimated additional $2.9 billion over three years for public hospitals to improve patient safety and reduce avoidable hospitalisations.
This will be a key election battleground.
The government was upbeat about the economy.
Both parties used the final days of the 44th parliament to test run their pitches for the election campaign the prime minister will nearly certainly call at the weekend – pitting “fairness” against “class envy”. It also plans to expand CSIRO’s accelerator programme.
Australia has been hurt by waning demand from its largest trading partner China and falling commodity prices, with soft wages growth also squeezing government revenue. Australia is now carrying more than A$400bn in debt and this is growing.
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“I’m not placing any more on that than what I have just said – they are just projections and how those projections turn out in the years ahead will depend on how we continue to perform as a nation”, he said.
