Concetta Fierravanti-Wells (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for International Development and the Pacific) Share this | Hansard source

I table a response to a question taken on notice during question time on 20 March 2018 asked by Senator McAllister relating to the Tax Expenditures Statement. I seek leave to incorporate the answer in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The answer read as follows—

Dear Mr President

I write with regard to a question I took on notice from Senator McAllister on Tuesday, 20 March 2018, on the matter of dividend imputation refunds.

The figures that Senator McAllister quoted are incorrect.

I note that the Tax Expenditures Statement (TES), released by Treasury on an annual basis, estimates revenue forgone where the actual tax treatment differs from the `benchmark'. As described in the 2017 TES:

" The income tax benchmark incorporates a range of features of the tax system, including: ... Arrangements to reduce or eliminate double taxation — for example, the imputation system, which eliminates the double taxation of company profits distributed to resident shareholders. " (Pages 142 and 143)

The refundability of franking credits to Australian taxpayers is consistent with the income tax benchmark and as a result are not treated as a tax expenditure in the TES.

The Labor Party should release their costings, including the measure of their reliability, for public scrutiny.

from the Minister of Finance, and the Leader of the Government in the Senate, Senator Mathias Cormann