CEOs told to join fight for tax cuts
SCOTT Morrison has called on corporate leaders to support the government’s tax cuts, saying a Labor government could “wreck the economy”.
National
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SCOTT Morrison has issued a call to corporate leaders to get behind the government’s tax cuts, writing to hundreds of chief executives across the country to warn them they risk a Labor government that could wreck the economy and ruin their businesses.
The Treasurer told the business community that it could no longer “sit on the fence” when it came to supporting Coalition policy to reduce taxes, reports The Australian.
“Despite the distractions and interruptions in politics this year, the Turnbull government has remained focused on delivering on our economic agenda,” Mr Morrison told The Australian. “Business knows this is the right way forward and can’t afford to sit on the fence when it comes to supporting policies like our enterprise tax plan.
“Labor’s plan is to increase taxes on business and investment. Our plan is the opposite. Business cannot afford to stay out of this contest. It’s not about being partisan, it’s about supporting what they know to be right for our economy.”
His intervention comes as Malcolm Turnbull prepares to deliver a speech to the Business Council of Australia in an attempt to reboot the government’s economic message and untangle itself from the same-sex marriage debate and the citizenship crisis that has crippled the Prime Minister’s leadership.
It is understood Mr Turnbull will urge the business community to unite behind the campaign for the full reduction in company taxes, which has little chance of passing the current parliament, warning of economic decline should Australia become internationally uncompetitive.
Mr Turnbull will single out US President Donald Trump’s proposed corporate tax cuts as a direct threat to continued investment in Australia, following a Treasury report warning that without a competitive tax regime, Australia is at risk of an irreversible economic decline.
In an implicit message to the corporate world that it had been missing in action in pushing the public case for tax reforms, Mr Morrison warns of the “dark vision” of a Labor government that would drive the country into “economic stagnation”.
“I have attached for your information a publication containing a series of addresses I have delivered since July, that outlines the government’s national economic plan and where I see the economic challenges and opportunities going forward,” the covering letter says. “As the global economy improves, it is critical that we remain focused on delivering and building on this plan, so we can continue to grow jobs and ultimately boost the wages of Australians.
“The evidence of the better days ahead I first spoke of in this year’s budget continues to present. We have now experienced the longest consecutive jobs growth in 23 years and business conditions are at record levels.
“The opposition’s alternative of higher taxes, bigger deficits and more debt would wreck our economy. It’s a dark vision that sells the Australian people short and would drive us into economic stagnation.”
Mr Turnbull said other countries were lowering their corporate rates, with the US House of Representatives last week voting to cut the corporate rate from 35 per cent to 20 per cent. “Australia cannot afford to be left behind,” he said. “We need a level playing field to help our economy compete and prosper. If we don’t reduce our corporate rate to 25 per cent as planned over the coming decade, our businesses will be paying higher taxes than almost every other advanced economy. This means Australian jobs and opportunities will go overseas.”
This story was originally published in The Australian and is reprinted with permission.