Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Revenue and Financial Services. Will the minister update the House on how the government is ensuring the integrity of the tax system? Is the minister aware of any different suggestions regarding taxation?

Mr Stephen Jones interjecting—

Mr Conroy interjecting—

Mrs Sudmalis interjecting—

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

The members for Whitlam and Shortland will cease interjecting. The member for Gilmore will cease giving me advice.

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

I thank the member for Berowra for his—

Mr Stephen Jones interjecting—

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

The member for Whitlam will leave under 94(a).

The member for Whitlam then left the chamber.

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

A popular choice! I thank the member for Berowra for his question, and I'd like to congratulate him on the hard work and advocacy that each and every day he displays on behalf of his constituents. He's absolutely right to ask about taxation policy, because he recognises, like all of us on this side of the chamber, that people work hard for their money. And, because they work hard for their money, they ought to keep as much of it as humanly possible after we guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on. He also understands that we need a taxation system that has real integrity.

We've heard a lot of hot air from those opposite—a lot coulda, shoulda, woulda—when it comes to multinational tax avoidance. When the Leader of the Opposition was on the Treasury benches, all of that hot air amounted to absolutely nothing. It has taken a coalition government, the Turnbull government, to actually deliver, to close those tax loopholes for multinational companies and to crack down on tax cheats. We're the ones who have introduced the diverted profits tax, have doubled the penalties for tax avoidance schemes and have put in place the multinational anti-avoidance law. It's not lost on anybody in here, or those who might be watching, that it was those opposite that voted against it. It's a law that has seen an additional $7 billion in sales tax returned each and every year as a result of those changes, plus the hundreds of thousands of dollars we have seen returned in GST revenue as well.

We've also established the Tax Avoidance Taskforce, which, in just two years, has seen $10 billion in tax liabilities against large corporates and high-net-worth individuals also returned. Just last week, we legislated in this place the OECD multilateral convention, further bolstering the integrity of our taxation system. This means that we on this side of the chamber are making sure we have a taxation system that is secure. It allows us to be able to provide tax relief to those hardworking Australians—the mums and dads out there who work hard each and every day for their income.

We have legislated a personal income tax plan through both houses of this parliament. We have been able to legislate that. That has seen 94 per cent of all individuals who've paid tax pay no more than 32½c in the dollar. We have been able to provide tax relief for small- and medium-sized enterprises with a turnover of less than $50 million, but those opposite would simply seek to hike up taxes $200 billion more. (Time expired)