Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for his second-form question. This is the same shadow Treasurer who could not nominate the tax-free threshold on Sky News to Alan Jones. As usual, he misrepresents these matters. As I was trying to point out when questioned on the matter, the way it works is that it is a very simple tax principle: when you incur costs in earning an income, you can recoup the costs in claiming deductions for those. I was drawing a comparison with businesses in that the rental of a property is like running a business. I was trying to communicate a very simple tax principle. The tax principle is where you have net rental losses, when you have gone out and you have invested in your future and you are trying to provide for the future for you and your family as so many Australians do—ordinary Australians out there, whether they are police officers or nurses or teachers or others who are the predominant users of negative gearing in this country. They are out there trying to provide for their future.

What those opposite are saying is that when people incur costs in the procuring of that income, when they incur costs in repairing the property or doing all of these sorts of things or incurring costs in the dead interest costs, then they should not be able to claim that back. They are saying that is some form of concession. They are wrong. They are absolutely wrong. This is a tax principle that has been around for a century. Those opposite should focus more on the things they used to support to bring the country forward—things like reducing company taxes for small businesses. Those opposite would rather see small businesses pay higher rates of tax than see foreign workers pay higher rates of tax. What they would like to see is companies struggling more and not being able to give workers more hours and more opportunity to earn more. That is what their economic plan is, as well as increasing the deficit by $16.8 billion. On this side of the House we are focused on constructive measures which enable Australians to get ahead. Those opposite just want to tax them more.

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