Max Chandler-Mather (Griffith, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens will support the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 1) Bill 2023 in the House, and, contrary to the member for Bowman, we would certainly welcome phasing out the stage 3 tax cuts and capital gains tax concessions, which, it's worth noting on International Women's Day, overwhelmingly go to wealthy men. However, we reserve, on this bill, the right to seek to take a different position in the other place, pending a Senate inquiry into this bill. In particular, we are keen to understand how schedule 5 would work. Unlike schedule 4, schedule 5 wasn't included in the government's October budget. In fact, schedule 5 picks up a proposal first made by the former prime minister when he was Treasurer. The proposal to curb the distribution of franking credits funded by particular capital-raising activities was included in the 2016-17 MYEFO but obviously not proceeded with by the previous government. We want to understand whether businesses with a greater capacity to take on more debt—that is, big established businesses—might be able to circumvent the intent of schedule 5 and gain a competitive advantage as a result. We also want to understand whether the ATO can actually make a reasonable conclusion that a company's capital raising is linked to a company's distribution. We look forward to raising these issues and seeing them get an airing in the Senate inquiry.

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