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

I move:

That the report from the committee be adopted.

In doing so, I will explain to the chamber what just happened. Labor—

Senator Cameron interjecting—

Senator Cameron is getting very excited about himself here! The hubris is unbelievable, because he thinks the government got stuffed. No, the people who got stuffed today by the Labor Party, the Greens, Senator Hinch and Senator Culleton are the farmers of Australia. What Labor, the Greens, Senator Culleton, Senator Hinch and Senator Lambie have done today is vote for Wayne Swan's 32.5 per cent tax rate for nonresident foreign workers, because that is the tax rate that will apply if this vote in the Senate chamber today stands.

Labor, the Greens, Senator Hinch and Senator Lambie have voted for a higher tax than what the government was prepared to do. The government has been absolutely reasonable. Against our better judgement, we proposed to compromise down to an income tax rate of 15 per cent. That is absolutely reasonable. Last week Senator Hinch voted for 19 per cent. Last week Senator Culleton voted for 19 per cent. But the government compromised further because we understood there was a consensus in this chamber for a 15 per cent tax rate.

Now the chamber has chosen to vote for a 32.5 per cent tax rate because—let me make it very clear—the government in the House of Representatives will not be accepting this request for amendments. The government in the House of Representatives will reject that request for amendments, this bill will come back to the Senate and there will be a final opportunity for the Senate to decide whether they want a 32.5 per cent tax rate from the first dollar earned or whether they want a 15 per cent tax rate—whether they want a 17.5 per cent tax cut for foreign workers or whether they want a 22 per cent tax cut for foreign workers. The government has said there is a limit to how much further we are prepared to cut taxes for foreign workers because we understand that, given the budget is in deficit and given the unsustainable spending growth trajectory that we inherited from Labor, every time we cut taxes by more for foreign workers it means that we have to increase taxes by more or cut spending by more for Australians.

Labor has been quite up-front. Labor wants lower taxes—even lower taxes—for foreign workers and it wants higher taxes for Australians saving for their retirement and higher taxes for Australian small businesses. Labor has been quite transparent, but I am quite surprised that Senator Culleton and Senator Hinch would decide to go for Wayne Swan's 32.5 per cent income tax rate from the first dollar earned instead of going for the much lower 15 per cent tax rate.

So, with those few words, and not wanting to hold the Senate up any longer, I will just confirm for the Senate that the government will not be accepting these requests in the House of Representatives—

Jacinta Collins (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Well, then you wear it!

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

Here we have the hubris again from Senator Collins. The hubris: 'You'll wear it.' No, the Labor Party will wear this like a rose of crowns, the Greens will wear it like a rose of crowns and Senator Culleton, Senator Hinch and Senator Lambie will wear it like a rose of crowns because they will be held responsible. On offer today was a 15 per cent tax rate. Instead, the Labor Party went for the 32.5 per cent tax rate.

I understand the Labor Party is a high-taxing party. The Labor Party might still have some fondness for the Wayne-Swan-introduced 32.5 per cent tax rate for income earned by foreign workers in Australia, so maybe this is just a cunning ploy and some of these other senators have been sucked into this cunning ploy by the Labor Party. But let me be very clear: this vote today by the Senate was a vote against the farmers' best interests. Everybody knows that even at 19 per cent our tax rate here in Australia is internationally competitive. Our tax rate is internationally competitive, and holiday-makers coming to Australia are better off earning money in Australia than they would be for the same amount of money earned in New Zealand, in Canada or in the United Kingdom. Even after that—even though the 19 per cent tax rate was internationally competitive—in order to facilitate a consensus in this chamber, the government went that further step. Quite frankly, we were not all that keen to go that further step—that is a matter of record—but the Senate is now saying: 'Actually, even though there would've been a majority for 19 per cent last week, no, we're not even going to accept the lower 15 per cent. We're going to go for 32½ per cent instead.' That is what they call in the classics 'cutting off your nose to spite your face'.

But this, obviously, is now not resolved. If it does not get resolved by the Senate in a form that is acceptable to the government, it means that the 32.5 per cent Wayne Swan tax rate from the first dollar earned by nonresident foreign workers will apply, and everybody in this chamber knows that, consistent with relevant cases in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and consistent with relevant guidance by the Taxation Office, that is actually the law of the land right now.

Question agreed to.

Report adopted.