John Williams (NSW, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Cameron says, 'What?' Is he trying to tell me that industry super funds and retail funds don't have superannuation investments in our banks? Give me a break! Of course they do. That's a silly thing to imply, Senator Cameron. Of course they do. So Labor is obviously well against increasing the superannuation and retirement benefits for those workers for when they come to retire.

As I said, schedule 1 of this bill amends the Income Tax Rates Act 1986 to progressively extend the lower 25 per cent corporate tax rate to all corporate tax entities by the 2023-24 income year. The corporate tax rate will then be cut for all corporate entities for the 2024-25 income year to 27 per cent, for the 2025-26 income year to 26 per cent and for the 2026-27 income year and later income years to 25 per cent.

What happens if we're not competitive with our company tax? There've been plenty of arguments in this place about foreign investment, but the fact is foreign investment is good. I just don't like it when they buy a fully established farm. That's the one thing I disagree with about foreign investment. If they're going to buy farms and develop them and grow the exports and grow the jobs and grow the GDP and grow the tax take for Canberra, then foreign investment is very good. One of the controversial issues is buying our land, but, if they go to the Top End of Australia and want to develop land, they should go their hardest—that's my attitude. The fact is foreign companies have invested in Australia for centuries. For example, look at the mining sector and the huge wealth it's brought our country, the people employed, the taxation to Canberra and the benefits to all the families when they're employed in the mining industry. Who does the development? Many of the big companies, of course. One of those multinational companies now is BHP, originating in Broken Hill, and what a great job it's done. So foreign investment is certainly in Australia, and it has been here for so many years. The problem is that, if we do not remain competitive with our business rate, those big companies are going to say: 'Why invest in Australia? If we invest there, we've got to pay 30 per cent tax, but, if we invest in other countries, we pay a lot less tax.'

Let's have a look at some of the other countries' tax rates, the ones that are already in front of us. Australia must reduce our company tax rate to remain internationally competitive, as I said. In recent years, a large number of our international competitors, including Canada, Singapore, the UK, New Zealand, Norway, Israel, Japan, and France, have reduced their company tax rates. In December 2017, the US slashed business tax rates from 35 per cent to 21 per cent. If the Australian rate remains stranded at 30 per cent, Australia will have one of the highest tax rates in the OECD, making it harder for Australian companies to compete in fiercely competitive global markets. It's as simple as that.

We know full well that politics is being played here. It's on the record far and wide that Mr Bill Shorten has said that company tax cuts are good for our country. Shadow Treasurer Mr Bowen has said the same: cut the tax rate. I think Keating also pushed very hard to cut the tax rate when he was Treasurer. Some of the modelling we've seen is amazing. Treasury predict that, if the company tax rate is cut by what is requested, the economy will grow by one per cent. Given that we're a $1.3 trillion or $1.4 trillion economy these days, one per cent growth is an enormous amount of money and a lot of jobs created. As we say on this side of the chamber, the best way for living standards to improve is not to rely on social security but to get a job. We are trying to promote foreign investment, more jobs, more growth and better living standards for all Australians, but there will be a lot of debate about this very bill we're facing in the Senate now.

I won't take up my full time, so I give Senator Steele-John notice of that, but when you reduce company tax, where does the money go? It goes back to shareholders. Many of those shareholders are in the $2.3 trillion, $2.4 trillion—I see they're even quoting up to $2.6 trillion now—of superannuation funds that recently came under the spotlight of the royal commission. Too many snouts are in the trough of that big amount of money and are slicing money out of it. Billions of dollars have been taken out of those funds. Here is an opportunity to put more money back into their retirements.

On that, Mr Acting Deputy President Whish-Wilson, seeing that you are in the chair: when the superannuation legislation came into existence many years ago now—I think it was about 1993—there were no criminal laws attached to it whatsoever. If you rorted, defrauded, stole, or siphoned money out of a super fund, you didn't face criminal charges. That is appalling. In September last year we brought legislation to this chamber to introduce criminal laws for trustees and directors of superannuation funds, who would face charges of wrongdoing, theft, fraud—you name it—and it didn't proceed to a vote, because we didn't have the numbers. Given what we have found out from the royal commission, I hope that the Greens and Labor do not oppose those criminal punishment laws—a $420,000 fine for individuals and up to five years jail—when they come before this chamber next time. I imagine Labor opposed them in the first place to protect their industry super fund directors and trustees, but given what the royal commission has said now, they would not want to oppose those laws again, or the headlines would be, 'Labor and the Greens protect criminals'.

I have gone a bit off the track of company tax here, but I referred to building up superannuation and hence went to that subject. I support this legislation. I support these company tax cuts, profit to shareholders, profit to people for their superannuation, better retirement, and being competitive when it comes to foreign investment, especially foreign investment, when people overseas are saying, 'We can't invest in Australia; their company tax rate is too high.' I support the legislation, and I thank the chamber for its time.