Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. What is the total cost of corporate tax cuts over 10 years from 1 July 2018, both legislated and proposed to be legislated by the government?

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

The medium-term cost of the tax cuts, which was given, was $65 billion. That included the small- and medium-company tax cuts. What the honourable members opposite have done—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Prime Minister will resume his seat. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order?

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's on direct relevance. Perhaps the Prime Minister didn't hear it. We said the cost of the corporate—

Government members interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Members on my right are preventing me from hearing the point of order.

Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question I asked was on the cost of the corporate tax cuts for 10 years from 1 July 2018.

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

The Treasurer advises that the cost of the unlegislated tax relief for business is $35 billion and the cost in the final year, which is outside of the medium term—figures for which were given at the last budget—is just under $10 billion. What the Labor Party are demonstrating in their questions and the reference to an $80 billion figure—they've simply added $15 billion to $65 billion; it has no financial basis—is that their plan is to repeal all of the legislated tax cuts for Australian business. What they want to do is not simply oppose the unlegislated tax cuts for larger businesses but repeal the tax cuts for Australian family-owned businesses of up to $50 million turnover, which employ 6.8 million Australians. That's what Labor wants to do: undermine the investment, the optimism and the entrepreneurship that are driving the record jobs growth we've seen—415,000 jobs last year—and the strong economy that is enabling us to deliver the outcomes for Australian families. Ten million Australians will receive tax relief from the Treasurer's budget, and we will move to a personal income tax system that is simpler and fairer. All of that is only enabled by a strong economy, and the Labor Party wants to pull the rug out from under that stronger Australian economy by abandoning Australian family-owned small and medium businesses, as every question they've raised indicates.

Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Will the Prime Minister outline to the House how this government's plan for a stronger economy is helping to create jobs, reduce taxes and fund the essential services on which Australians rely?

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

I thank the honourable member for his question. Last night the Treasurer handed down the budget—a commitment to the values and the plan we took to the last election, in 2016. It is a plan that delivers on those commitments to drive a stronger economy to support Australian business and to support Australian jobs. It will deliver tax relief for small and medium businesses, which employ more than six million Australians; record investment in hospitals and schools; more affordable childcare; more affordable medicines, so many of those medicines are life-saving medicines; the roads and rail to get Australians home sooner and safer and bust congestion; and, of course, all of the resources that our vital services need—schools, education, health, the PBS and Medicare. That is all enabled by a stronger economy with more jobs.

As I said in my previous answer, we cannot forget that last year we saw record jobs growth—the most jobs created in Australia in our history—and we're continuing to see a thousand jobs added every single day. None of that's happened by accident. The opposition would have us believe that Australia has grown simply because the global economy has. We have made our own luck. Australians have made their own luck. Remember, in 2011-12, when Labor was in government, when global economic growth was stronger than it is today, when commodity prices were much higher than they are today, Labor trashed the budget with one bigger deficit after another because of their addiction to spending.

The fact is you need to have the policies that enable you to take advantage of a stronger global economy, and that's what we have put in place. It means we can guarantee the services Australians rely on and we can return the budget to balance sooner, and what that means is that we will not be throwing a growing mountain of debt onto the shoulders of our children and grandchildren. Net debt peaks this year as a share of GDP, turning the corner on debt. Labor sent us down a dangerous road on debt, and we have now turned back in the right direction to ensure that we bring the budget back into balance and bring that mountain of debt down.

The budget the Treasurer delivered last night delivers tax relief for working Australians so they can keep more of the money they earn, their money. An average income earner will have $530 in their pocket from next year. For a family—two parents, two income earners—that's over a thousand dollars. That is a great support for that family in these times of rising living costs. (Time expired)

Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Following last year's budget, when I asked, 'What is the total cost of the corporate tax cuts from 1 July 2017, both legislated and proposed to be legislated by the government?' the Treasurer answered, '$65.4 billion.' I ask, one year on: what is the total cost of the corporate tax cuts over 10 years from 1 July 2018, both legislated and proposed to be legislated by the government?

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

I will repeat what the Prime Minister said. The medium-term cost of the unlegislated component of the enterprise tax plan, which is currently before the Senate, is $35.6 billion over the period from 2016-17 to 2027-28. That is the measure that is currently before the Senate. The last year of that 2027-28 program is $9.8 billion, which obviously includes the cost of that measure as it applies economy-wide. So I will let the shadow Treasurer add up, if he can. But the point is this: the costings I have just set out are for the unlegislated tax cuts. Those opposite would know that, once a measure is legislated, it's legislated. It begs this question, as to why they want to know—why would you want to know the cost of tax legislation that has already been legislated for small and medium sized businesses unless you wanted to reverse it, unless you wanted to rip away the tax cuts given to small and medium sized businesses in this country? I'll tell you: $25 billion is the cost to revenue of those legislated tax cuts for small and medium sized businesses over 10 years. And you will be out $25 billion unless you reverse those tax cuts in your plan, because you went to the last election, beating your chest over there, the great man from McMahon—he was going to reverse the whole enterprise tax plan. You be honest with the small businesses—through you, Mr Speaker—and you tell them: are you going to rip away their tax cuts that have been legislated by this parliament, or are you going to strip them away?

Nola Marino (Forrest, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline to the House how the government is sticking to its plan for a stronger economy? How does a stronger economy benefit all Australians, including in my electorate of Forrest?

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

I thank the member for Forrest for her question, and I commend her on her excellent advocacy for the Bunbury Outer Ring Road. Fantastic job, member for Forrest. She stands up for her electorate to ensure important critical infrastructure will get built. That is funded by a stronger economy and a government that knows how to live within its means. The Bunbury Outer Ring Road will get built, thanks to the member for Forrest. The budget I handed down last night is a plan for a stronger economy. The economy Australians will live in, in the next 10 years, is what will determine their choices and their opportunities. It is important that we go into this next decade with a budget that's back in balance, a budget that has turned the corner on debt, and a budget that has taxes under control and has spending under control. It is important that there is a strong plan to ensure a stronger economy for Australia. That's what this budget is about. You cannot support and guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on unless you're doing the hard work of building a stronger economy. The businesses of this country, the employees of this country and the Turnbull government are doing that to provide that stronger economy.

The plan that I announced last night, the Turnbull government's plan for a stronger economy, is to provide tax relief to encourage and reward hardworking Australians and reduce the cost pressures on households. It is to continue backing business to invest and create more jobs. As the Australian Bureau of Statistics have demonstrated and found in their records, more than 1,000 jobs a day were created during the past year, creating more opportunities for people to go from welfare into work. The best form of welfare is a job. We are guaranteeing the essential services that Australians rely on: Medicare, hospitals, schools, caring for older Australians, the National Disability Insurance Scheme. That is the Turnbull government's stamp of guarantee, because it is a stamp of guarantee of a stronger economy—which those opposite wouldn't know the first thing about.

It's a plan to keep Australians safe. It's only a coalition government, it's only a Liberal and National government, which knows how and has the demonstrated track record of keeping Australians safe; of stopping the boats and keeping them stopped; of hunting down criminals; and of stopping terrorism and preventing the terrorist threat to this country—under the keen stewardship of the Minister for Home Affairs, keeping Australians safe, and of the Minister for Defence, ensuring that our overseas forces get the support they need. Above all, we on this side of the House, the Liberal and National parties, know how to live within our means, keeping taxes under control and keeping spending under control. We all know that too much tax is never enough for those on that side of the House. Their taxes can never keep up with their reckless spending. (Time expired)

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. When the Treasurer answered the exact same question last year, why is the Treasurer refusing to tell Australians how much his corporate tax cuts cost over the next 10 years—

Mr Fletcher interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Will the Deputy Leader of the Opposition pause and perhaps stay at the dispatch box. The Minister for Urban Infrastructure was interjecting, and he interjects in a particularly piercing tone. I ask him to cease interjecting. Can I ask the Deputy Leader of the Opposition to begin the question again? The clock will start again—

Honourable members interjecting—

Members on both sides. If members can cease interjecting, we can get on with their question time.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Mr Speaker. My question is to the Treasurer. When the Treasurer answered the exact same question last year, why is the Treasurer refusing to tell Australians how much his corporate tax cuts cost over the next 10 years? So I ask: what is the total cost of corporate tax cuts over 10 years from 1 July 2018, both legislated and proposed to be legislated by the government?

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

I thank the member for her keen interest in economic matters, on which she's had a great track record in this place. She's always been very keenly interested in the economy. I will repeat for the House: it's fairly straightforward: the final year cost in 2027-28 of those measures is $9.8 billion. Let me provide you with some additional information. In the 2017-18 budget, the major bank levy was proposed to raise around $1.8 billion in 2023-24 and cumulatively around $10 billion to 2023-24. That is when all companies—

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

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

I'm talking about tax.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Manager of Opposition Business.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business (House)) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On direct relevance, it is impossible for questions to be more specific than when they ask for one number. We're now up to the third question seeking the same number, and I ask the Treasurer to be relevant to the one number the parliament's asking him about.

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I will rule on the point of order.

Opposition members interjecting—

Members on my left will cease interjecting. I'm trying to rule on the point of order. This was a specific question relating to company tax and with a very tight preamble. I think raising the bank levy is an unrelated matter, and the Treasurer needs to confine himself to the subject of the question.

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

Thank you, Mr Speaker, but, before the point of order was taken, the point I was about to make about the bank levy was how banks are major companies in this country who pay corporate tax. By the time that the major banks in this country would receive a corporate tax rate of 25 per cent, they will have paid, in the bank levy, more than $16 billion back to the government. But the figure—

Opposition members interjecting—

Look, get your calculator out, get a pen, write it down and I'll help you with the maths. You add $9.8 billion to the cost. It's that simple. I know maths isn't your strong suit, and there's no-one on that side who can help you with it. Just add 9.8. It's pretty simple.

Ms Macklin interjecting—

Ms Husar interjecting—

Mr Brian Mitchell interjecting —

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Jagajaga is warned, as are the member for Lindsay and the member for Lyons.