Finance Minister Mathias Cormann refuses to admit defeat over business tax bill
A MASSIVE tax cut for big business isn’t dead and buried yet, federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann is claiming, despite two crossbench senators blocking the bill.
Companies
Don't miss out on the headlines from Companies. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A MASSIVE tax cut for big business isn’t dead and buried yet, according to federal Finance Minister Mathias Cormann who is refusing to admit defeat after a new crossbench senator — elected with just 189 votes — announced he would block the legislation in its current form.
Minister Cormann, the government’s chief negotiator on the tax rate cut, refused today to condemn new independent Senator Tim Storer, who has blocked the “urgent”, “important” cut to Australia’s corporate tax rate just a week after being sworn in.
Earlier this week, the government had hoped it could secure Senator Storer and fellow crossbencher Derryn Hinch’s support to pass the bill.
But Senator Storer, who was sworn in to replace ousted dual citizen Skye Kakoschke-Moore, announced yesterday that he wanted broader tax reform and thought Australia had higher priorities than the $35 billion tax rate cut while the budget was so tight.
“We’ve been pursuing broader tax reform ever since we were elected,” Minister Cormann said today, highlighting tax cuts for middle income earners, axing the mining income tax, and superannuation reform.
He refused to comment on the status of his talks with Senator Storer but said the government would consider tax reform, as it always did, ahead of the May Budget.
“We’ve already indicated that we will be pursuing personal income tax cuts in this upcoming Budget,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“This is just business as usual for us is my point.
“We always consider the tax system as a whole. We always consider how the tax system can be improved and we will continue to do that going forward.”
Senator Cormann said the need for ongoing consideration of tax reform should not stop the Parliament from passing the company tax cuts now.
“The need to reduce the business tax rate is urgent and important,” he said.
“If we don’t do it we will cause harm to the Australian economy and jobs.”
Minister for Small and Family Business Craig Laundy told Sky News today Senator Storer was a “deep thinker” and an “avid reader” with a business background and he expected him to consider the case for tax cuts carefully before May.
Meanwhile, Fairfax Media reports the heads of some of Australia’s largest companies, who sent an open letter to the Senate urging them to pass the cuts last week, watered down their pledge before it was published.
A leaked copy of the original statement reportedly shows the pledge would have committed companies such as Qantas, Fortescue and BHP to pay ‘‘tax and show our commitment by signing the ATO’s tax transparency standard’’.
The original wording also promised to put business ‘‘in a stronger position to avoid offshoring jobs, invest more in remote and rural Australia and be able to increase wages when the conditions are right,” Fairfax reports.
It was watered down to a pledge to “invest” more in Australia.
Originally published as Finance Minister Mathias Cormann refuses to admit defeat over business tax bill