Peter Whish-Wilson (Tasmania, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

My question is also to the Minister representing the Treasurer, Senator Cormann. In seeking to justify the proposed cuts to the company tax rate and in trying to support the crossbench, the government has been saying that the benefits of a tax cut will trickle down and that workers will see their wages rise. Senator Cormann, you're aware that Morgan Stanley recently did a survey across the Dow and the Nasdaq of US companies that have recently had a tax cut, and 44 per cent of them said they will use that money to buy back shares or they will return it to shareholders. This is no surprise. Did your department, the Treasury, conduct its own assessment, surveys or consultations with the 130 Business Council of Australia members or other businesses to find out what they were going to do with these funds? Were they going to keep it or give it to Australian workers?