Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

No second prize, Senator Conroy. The serious point is that this luxury car tax is a huge impost on innovation. It is a tax on innovation. The CPIMV mechanism is clearly an inhibitor to innovation. If this government actually believes its mantra in relation to innovation, it would ensure that the luxury car tax did not act as an inhibitor.

I say to my friend Senator Xenophon and the crossbenchers that clearly the mechanism is wrong. I think Senator Xenophon and I are at one in relation to that. The only thing we disagree on is when it should be introduced. We believe it should be introduced now; Senator Xenophon, in four years time—because this magical figure of $400 million has been plucked out of the air. But no modelling has been done. The only modelling that has been done, that of FCAI, cannot be confirmed, but nor can it be denied.

With great respect, I would have thought that in any court of public opinion, if somebody comes up with an assertion and shows the methodology by which it was arrived at and someone says, ‘I can’t confirm that,’ but they are given the opportunity to tear it to pieces and show that it is wrong, false and flawed, that might be an argument that we would have to listen to. But Treasury do not say that. They do not go that little extra step to tell you, Senator Xenophon, and others on the crossbenches that this is a flawed approach by the FCAI and that they have done something wrong with their calculations. All Treasury say in dismissing it is that they cannot confirm it. That might be because they have not even bothered trying to confirm it; the fact they cannot deny it is very important. So allow me to ask the minister: how was the sum of $400 million—that nice, round, convenient figure—arrived at?