Chris Crewther (Dunkley, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services: Will the minister update the House on the importance of creating a tax setting that helps grow the economy and reduces the tax burden on hardworking Australians? Is the minister aware of any alternative approaches that pose a threat to Australian small businesses and families alike, including in my electorate of Dunkley?

Kelly O'Dwyer (Higgins, Liberal Party, Minister for Revenue and Financial Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Dunkley for his question. As a former small business owner, he knows that the best generator of jobs is businesses. The best generators of incomes are businesses. When we see businesses thrive, we see them invest more and create more jobs for Australians to be employed. This is precisely why the government has legislated tax cuts for small- and medium-sized enterprises, and the results of this are very compelling: more than 400,000 jobs created in 2017—that's over 1,000 jobs created every single day. We have seen the results this morning for Australian business confidence, and we see that this is at its highest point since December 2010.

But not only do Labor want to keep business taxes high; they will actually increase business taxes on small- and medium-sized enterprises with a turnover of between $2 million and $50 million. These are businesses that are employing millions and millions of Australians and that either have already received a tax cut or will be receiving a tax cut on 1 July this year under the coalition.

The Leader of the Opposition was on the record recently at the National Press Club proclaiming, in his usual self-righteous fashion, 'We are in danger of creating a left-behind society.' What a very interesting choice of words given the reckless stance that he has taken on tax and the direct threat that this poses to businesses and workers across our great nation. Thanks to the Leader of the Opposition, we are in danger of being left behind by the United Kingdom, which has reduced its company tax rate to 19 per cent, soon to fall to 17 per cent. We are in danger of being left behind by the United States, which has reduced its rate to 21 per cent. We are in danger of being left behind by France, Italy and Belgium, which have either reduced their rates or announced an intention to do so in the future.

The importance of ensuring that our tax settings remain competitive should not come as news to the Leader of the Opposition, because, as the Prime Minister has quoted him, he has said that it leads to more jobs and higher wages. The Turnbull government, the OECD, the IMF and governments of various political persuasions from all around the world all recognise the economic benefits of reducing company tax rates. It's Labor opposition to the government's enterprise tax package that would see Australia left behind on business investment, on jobs, on growth, damaging our economy and harming the prosperity of millions of Australians.

Jenny Macklin (Jagajaga, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Disability and Carers (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Social Services: How many Australian families are currently worse off because of the government's two-year freeze on family tax benefits? And why is the government putting big business before Australian families, with their unfair $65 billion company tax cut?

Dan Tehan (Wannon, Liberal Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would like to thank the member for her question. And can I say that this government is about supporting families. This government is about ensuring that families get the assistance and the support that they need, and it is doing that through its economic policy. Our economic policy is delivering for this nation. The best thing that we can do for mums and dads, for individuals, is to make sure that they can get a job. We're delivering 1,100 jobs a day to help those families.

Now, it's funny when you start off in a new portfolio like this, you decide to do a bit of research. It was funny because when the member for Jagajaga moved 80,000 single parents onto Newstart—I thought, well, some might see that measure as having been a bit harsh—this is what she said:

Unfortunately we have far too many people - children - growing up in Australia in families where nobody is working.

…   …   …   

… the more that people go back to work the better. It's better for the family, it's great to see mum and/or dad going or both going to work.

That was the member for Jagajaga. I thought, that's incredibly sound. So I thought we would see support from the opposition for what we are doing to create jobs, because the best thing that we can do for families, for individuals, is to make sure that they have a job so they can support their kids to make sure that they can give them a good education, to make sure that they can provide the health care they need. And that is what we will continue to do through the good, sound economic management of the Treasurer, supported wholeheartedly by the Prime Minister and everyone here, building on the great work done by the previous Minister for Social Services and by the previous Minister for Human Services. They both did an outstanding job in making sure that we can deliver for all Australians.