Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

As Senator Wong well knows, I dealt with that question yesterday. Let me say to the Labor Party that, unlike the Labor Party, we don't have a policy to increase taxes on business. Why don't you cost your own policies? We're not going to do the work for you.

We know that the Labor Party are all about increasing taxes on business. We know that an increased tax on business is an increased tax on jobs. We know that they're quite happy to send investment and jobs overseas, because that is the way under the Bill Shorten Labor Party. That is not our way. We want Australians today, and into the future, to have the best possible opportunity to get ahead. We understand that the businesses that employ nine out of 10 working Australians need to have the best possible opportunity to be more successful and more profitable into the future. We understand that Labor's plan for higher taxes on business, putting businesses in Australia at a disadvantage compared to businesses in other parts of the world, would put Australian workers at a disadvantage compared to workers in other parts of the world. But we know that Labor are all in favour of helping workers in other parts of the world at the expense of Australian workers.

That is not the approach of the Liberal-National Party coalition. We are in favour of helping working families around Australia get ahead, and that is why policies to support businesses be more successful, so they can hire more Australians and pay them better wages over time, are reflected in our budget. They have been reflected in our budget for some time. I answered the question in the chamber yesterday: in the period 2016 to 2027-28, the cost of the unlegislated business tax cuts is $35.6 billion.