Company tax cuts face Senate roadblock and debate gets nasty
MALCOLM Turnbull has blasted Labor after copping a spray from Bill Shorten and a personal attack over his wealth as the company tax cuts row heats up.
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MALCOLM Turnbull has blasted Labor’s “politics of envy” as the political row over the government’s $65 billion company tax cuts turns nasty.
The Prime Minister launched a defence in Question Time today after Opposition leader Bill Shorten gave an extraordinary speech attacking him in Parliament and Labor released a new ad last night claiming he would personally benefit from the business tax cuts.
“Australians know my life story. It is hardly a secret,” Mr Turnbull said.
“Over the course of my life Lucy and I have worked hard. We’ve had good fortune. And we have paid tax - we have paid a lot of tax.
“We have given back to the community. And we have been able to achieve greatly.
“There was a time when the Labor Party would have certainly welcomed that.”
Mr Turnbull had earlier slammed the Opposition for attacking him for working hard and “having a quid” after it released an ad last night claiming the had “millions invested in funds which hold shares in dozens of big businesses which would benefit from the tax cut”.
“If the honourable members opposite want to start a politics of envy campaign about it, I don’t think they will be telling people anything they don’t know,” he said.
Mr Turnbull highlighted that almost every MP had interests in Australian superannuation funds and would benefit from the company tax cuts.
He also explained his investments, which were publicly stated on the interest register, were almost entirely offshore managed funds so as to avoid conflicts of interest in Australian shares.
The company tax cuts, which aim to reduce Australia’s corporate tax rate from 30 to 25 per cent over ten years, will go before the Senate today.
Mr Shorten had earlier blasted the Prime Minister for demanding “applause and confetti” for passing $10 a week personal income tax cuts while seeking to give bigger tax cuts to the “top end of town”.
“When you look at the legislation the government brought on last week, to provide $7000 tax cuts for people on $200,000 a year and they can’t support $70 a week for shop assistants, retail workers and people in hospitality, it screams much about their values,” Mr Shorten told Parliament.
“When they had the opportunity to write a taxpayer cheque for the club of millionaires and the top end of town, they moved at lightning speed,” he said.
“Never get between a Liberal and a tax cut for a billionaire.”
In his speech this morning, where he called for the Coalition to back a new Labor push to restore Sunday penalty rates, Mr Shorten also took aim Mr Turnbull’s tendency to take selfies with constituents.
He ridiculed the Prime Minister for “demanding applause and confetti” for passing the income tax cuts while doing “proof-of-life videos” showing he could “actually speak to Australians”.
The Labor leader implied Mr Turnbull was out of touch with voters and used selfies to avoid talking to them.
Imitating the Prime Minister, he said: ‘I’ll have a selfie, that avoids me talking to you and listening to you, and deals with the awkwardness because I haven’t got a clue about your life.”
LABOR DEFENDS PERSONAL ATTACK
Federal Labor has defended the new attack ads which state the Prime Minister has “millions invested in funds which hold shares in dozens of big businesses which would benefit from the tax cut”.
“He always sides with the millionaires and the multinationals over middle Australia,” Labor’s finance spokesman Jim Chalmers told ABC radio this morning.
“We are entirely within our rights to point that out to people.”
Labor released an analysis of Mr Turnbull’s financial interests register along with the ads showing he indirectly owns shares in 32 companies worth over $50 million.
“Who exactly is he looking after?” the ads ask.
Mr Turnbull hit back, accusing Labor of turning on everything it once stood for.
“They want to attack me having a quid,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“They want to attack me and Lucy for working hard, investing, having a go, making money, paying plenty of tax, giving back to the community.”
HANSON: ‘I WON’T BE BULLIED’
Mr Turnbull will face an uphill battle to pass the $65 billion company tax cuts through the Senate this week with Pauline Hanson insisting she won’t be “bullied” into backing the plan.
The government needs to change the minds of at least four crossbenchers to secure the reform.
Mr Turnbull is hopeful Finance Minister Mathias Cormann will be able win the support of the crossbench for the business tax cuts this week after he managed to secure their votes for the $144 billion personal income tax cuts last week.
But the One Nation leader, whose party is contesting a by-election in Queensland next month, is refusing to budge on her decision to oppose the reform, saying today she will not be “threatened” or “bullied” into changing her mind.
The Senate showdown over company tax cuts comes as a new poll shows most Australians still back the Coalition’s economic management over Labor’s.
Senator Hanson has also been accused of “political posturing” and “attempting to score cheap political points” by other crossbench senators who back the plan, including Cory Bernardi, Fraser Anning and David Leyonhjelm.
The senators have told The Australian Senator Hanson simply wants to boost her party’s vote at the Longman by-election through opposing the tax cuts, claiming it was why she had reneged on her support for the government’s plan last month.
A defiant Hanson defended her stance on the tax cuts this morning, saying: “I will not be threatened. I will not be bullied by anyone.”
“I am not siding with Labor or the Greens, I’m siding with what I think is right for the country and for people,” she told Channel 7’s Sunrise program.
Senator Hanson revealed she has also faced pressure from billionaire Clive Palmer, who is attempting to make a political comeback and has already nabbed her former One Nation colleague Brian Burston to win his first United Australia Party senator in the upper house.
She claimed Mr Palmer had phoned her staff yesterday to urge her to support the company tax cuts and “threatened” the party with a negative preference deal unless she backed the bill.
Senator Derryn Hinch has also been lobbied by Mr Palmer to back the tax cuts.
Senator Hanson did not rule out ever backing the tax cuts today, saying her position would ultimately depend on the government agreeing to “go after” multinational companies to “get them to pay their taxes in this country”.
The government already has measures in place targeting multinational tax avoidance and Treasurer Scott Morrison is expected to announce new tax measures targeting tech and internet giants within weeks.
But Senator Hanson has claimed the government has failed to give her assurances that it will target multinationals and so she will not back the company tax cuts this week.
“If we don’t start paying down our debts in the black hole that we have, we are going to have a huge debt for future generations,” she said.
The government has already passed tax cuts for businesses with a turnover up to $50 million. The rest of the package, which costs $35 billion and will deliver the tax cuts to all businesses, will be put before the senate this week.
Currently, One Nation’s two senators, Centre Alliance’s two senators and fellow crossbenchers Derryn Hinch and Tim Storer do not back the plan.
But the government remains hopeful Senator Cormann can change their minds.
Asked on ABC radio this morning about Senator Hanson’s insistence she could not be moved, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said: “Well, look, she said that some weeks ago about the personal income tax too.”
He argued businesses needed the tax cuts to be able to grow and give their employees higher wages.
Mr Turnbull also did not rule out the chances of negotiations succeeding, saying the government would work hard to secure support for the reforms.
NEW POLL BACKS TURNBULL
Meanwhile, a Fairfax/Ipsos out today shows most Australian voters continue to back Mr Turnbull over Bill Shorten as the preferred prime minister.
The pegged Mr Turnbull at 51 per cent against 33 per cent for the Labor opposition leader.
However, the poll shows the Coalition continues to lag behind Labor on a two-party preferred basis, at 47 per cent to 53 per cent.
The 1200 voters polled by Ipsos between June 20 and June 23 were also asked how they rated the leaders in nine categories, including economic management with 67 per cent backing Mr Turnbull against 48 per cent for Mr Shorten.
In the “strong leader” category the Prime Minister was on 49 per cent and the opposition leader on 41 per cent.
Mr Shorten rated more highly than Mr Turnbull on social policy, leading 59 per cent to 44 per cent.
The poll was conducted soon after the government’s $144 billion personal income tax cuts plan finally passed federal parliament last week.
- with AAP
Originally published as Company tax cuts face Senate roadblock and debate gets nasty