Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Madam Acting Deputy President, I will. I think that it is Senator Campbell that is a bully. I distinctly remember playing golf with him when he forced me to play a lot quicker, and I was bullied by Senator Campbell. If you look at what this government has done for small business—and obviously lower interest rates have been extraordinarily important for the small business sector—we have reduced company tax from 36 to 30 per cent. There were reductions in personal income tax rates in the last four federal budgets—tax changes that you would never deliver because you have never been committed to lower taxation. We have reduced tax compliance particularly through streamlining the simplified tax system, BAS lodgement and GST compliance with the raising of the annual turnover thresholds for registration for the GST from $50,000 to $75,000 for business. We have established a dedicated $50 million Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund to reduce the red-tape burden imposed on small business by local government. This will save small business over $450 million in time and money. We made workplace relations simpler and easier—