Jess Walsh (Victoria, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

It's great to see so much excitement from the opposition about the Treasury Laws Amendment (2023 Measures No. 1) Bill 2023. In general there should be more focus on our TLABs that make their way through the Senate Economics Committee. This is a pretty basic bill that's about some basic integrity measures—measures like schedule 5 on franked distributions funded by capital raisings, which those opposite announced in the 2016-17 MYEFO and then promptly did absolutely nothing about. This is a measure that's now made its way through a Treasury consultation, into legislation, through the House and across to the Senate Economics Committee. Now it's finally here, having gone through all the processes that those opposite never bothered to complete. On this side of the chamber, we are committed to integrity in our tax system: improving compliance, closing tax loopholes and enhancing transparency to ensure there's revenue for the essential services Australians need. That's exactly what this bill does—nothing more, nothing less. That's what everyday Australians expect to ensure that vital services can be funded.

Like any good TLAB that excites all of us on the Senate Economics Committee, this bill has a range of measures to improve our treasury laws. I chaired the inquiry into this bill earlier this year. We heard evidence from a number of stakeholders and individual Australians on these reforms. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who took the opportunity to submit their feedback. We heard why these changes are much needed, how they modernise Australia and how they increase integrity and transparency and hold our tax professionals to account. During the inquiry process we also heard about opportunities for better targeting of some of the measure. On schedules 1 and 2, the Australian Shareholders Association told us of their support for ensuring that Australia is in line with best international reporting standards. Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand and Certified Practising Accountants Australia consider these schedules to be an important milestone in Australia's progress to align with international advancements in consistent sustainability reporting. As has been noted in this debate, schedule 3 will help ensure that high standards of conduct are followed in the tax industry. The need for these reforms has been made very clear by the excellent work of both Senator Pocock, who spoke earlier, and Senator O'Neill, on the Senate Economics Committee. It's crucial that issues like these don't go unpunished or undetected. These reforms will empower the Tax Practitioners Board to better deal with misconduct, and they've been welcomed by industry. We welcome amendments which further strengthen the Tax Practitioners Board, as foreshadowed by Senator Pocock.

Schedule 4 adds greater integrity to our dividend imputation system. It ensures that some of the biggest and most profitable corporations in Australia can't exploit tax loopholes and use the taxpayer to partly subsidise their share buybacks. It is simply about aligning tax arrangements so that off-market and on-market share buybacks receive the same treatment. It's common sense. It shuts down an exploitative practice that risks government revenue, and it enhances the integrity of the tax system and ensures that shareholders are treated fairly and equitably. The Institute of Public Accountants have been advocating for these reforms since 2016, and they described the issue at hand neatly, saying:

Franking credits belong to all shareholders, and streaming credits to a particular shareholder class is usually prohibited as it is inequitable and inconsistent with the fundamental principles of our imputation system.

Professors Brown and Davis told the committee:

We believe that the changes proposed are well founded based on economic logic, principles of fair and equitable treatment of shareholders, ease and consistency of regulatory implementation, and strongly support the proposed measures. This is good legislation.

This bill tackles a range of important issues across Treasury laws. Schedule 5 is an example of needed reforms to continue to deter bad behaviour and ensure that it cannot resume. It will ensure that companies cannot raise capital purely for the purpose of making franked distributions, which is bad for consumers, bad for the budget, and bad for shareholders. There needs to be an economic purpose to capital-raising and we all agree on that. The work of the ATO has meant that this dodgy practice has dried up, but this bill is critical to rule it out conclusively. Our amendments, informed by the Senate inquiry in the usual process, will further target the measure to the mischief that we all agree needs to be addressed.

These reforms will go a long way to improving integrity, modernising Australia and treating shareholders fairly, so naturally, they're being opposed and attacked in part by those opposite. Now, this is a coalition, we must all remember, that doesn't even have a shadow financial services minister to speak on the issues at hand. I know Mr Robert, the former member for Fadden, has been gone for almost six months. There are many people who would be very well qualified to take up such a position in the Senate. There are a few of them sitting opposite me right now but we know that those opposite don't have anyone. We know that's because they're so divided they can't even agree to replace someone who's been gone for six months but they want to come in here and tell us how to handle a portfolio that they don't even have a spokesperson for.

We know, because they lack a shadow minister, the Senate is the only place to have a go at a basic integrity bill to audition for the role that should be filled, that needs to be filled. We know that if you took this seriously—