Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source

If Australia's company tax rate stays at 30 per cent for most companies—for the larger companies with over $50 million in turnover—by 2020 there will only be one country in the OECD with a higher tax rate, and that is Portugal. It is a competitive world, but I have to say that, when Australian companies are looking for capital, they don't normally see themselves as only competing with Portugal; they want to compete with the whole world. We are in a position where France is going down to 25 per cent. The US—obviously the largest economy—has gone to 21 per cent. The UK is below 20 per cent.

The reality has been acknowledged by Labor leaders and shadow Treasurers and Treasurers year in and year out, until this leader, whose rolled-gold guarantees can never be trusted on any subject, whether it's citizenship or company tax or backing in the workers he is supposed to represent. This leader changed all of the commitments over many years that we saw from the Labor Party which recognised that Australia had to be competitive internationally. He has abandoned that, and when you abandon international competitiveness—whether you abandon it on tax or whether you abandon it on free trade—you are abandoning Australian workers and their jobs.

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