Julie Owens (Parramatta, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Economics I present the committee's advisory report on the Tax Laws Amendment (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Bill 2012, together with the dissenting report and the minutes of proceedings.

In accordance with standing order 39(f) the report was made a parliamentary paper.

I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Bill 2012 makes consequential administrative changes to support the tax rate changes in the Income Tax (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Amendment Bill 2012. In particular, the bill sets withholding rates so that the correct amounts are withheld and are available for payment under the second bill at a later date. The substantive provisions of the bill are in schedule 1. It replicates exactly the provisions in schedule 4 of the Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 2) Bill 2012, the third bill. The third bill was one of four bills that the committee examined in its last advisory report, tabled on Monday, 18 June 2012. In this inquiry the committee received submissions on this issue and took evidence from key stakeholders—in particular, the Financial Services Council, the Property Council and the Treasury. The committee concluded that all four bills should proceed. The referral of the bill is in effect requesting the committee to repeat its previous inquiry. The committee sees no constructive benefit in this, given that the circumstances are much the same as when the committee tabled its report a week ago. The committee reiterates its previous recommendation that the House pass the Tax Laws Amendment (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Bill 2012 as proposed.

Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—I rise to make a statement in connection with the Economics Standing Committee advisory report on the Tax Laws Amendment (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Bill 2012.

Liberal members of the committee have lodged a dissenting report in relation to this bill. It is curious that this report, as the chair of the committee outlined, reflects on a bill that was before the committee only a matter of weeks ago and which the committee has already reported on. Mindful of that, the Liberal members of the committee have made dissenting comments that highlight our concern that perceptions about the sovereign risk in Australia are founded in reason—because this government does not know whether it is Arthur or Martha. That goes very directly to the Tax Laws Amendment (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Bill 2012.

The government originally announced they were reducing the rate from 30 per cent down to 7½ per cent. Then they announced in the budget that they were increasing the rate from 7½ per cent to 15 per cent. Then they decided to withdraw and leave it at 7½ per cent, before introducing this bill, which puts it back up to 15 per cent. Is it any wonder at all that people are confused about what this government is up to? Is it any wonder that as Liberal members of the committee we stand steadfastly opposed not only to the impact of the bill itself but also to the very process of in-again, out-again, on-again, off-again, that this government has adopted with respect to the Tax Laws Amendment (Managed Investment Trust Withholding Tax) Bill 2012 and, more broadly, with respect to withholding taxes are generally?

We stand by our concerns as raised in the previous dissenting report of the committee. We also highlight that there were some robust criticisms of Treasury modelling and of the comparison rate chart that was put forward by Treasury and tabled and lodged with the committee secretariat and raised by, for example, the Property Council of Australia.