Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Revenue) Share this | Hansard source

After the next election, the member for Brisbane rightly points out. I intended to move an amendment in the consideration in detail stage today. I foreshadowed this, importantly, during my contribution in the second reading debate for that bill. I intended to move an amendment such that businesses should be able to choose the system which suits them ad infinitum. The government’s argument is that this is a better system for business generally but particularly for small business. I say that, if it is about making it better for business, let business choose which system best suits them. It does not carry any financial implications. It is simply a timing difference. The government’s new scheme will deny business the right to claim the fuel tax back as soon as they have paid the account and force them to wait until they have lodged their BAS, their business activity statement. For some businesses this is a year, but more typically it is a quarter. You would have tens of thousands of businesses in this country carrying tens of thousands of dollars—

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