Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is also to the Treasurer. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's has today warned that Australia's AAA rating will be at risk unless revenue is increased in a sustained way. Why is the Treasurer refusing to support sensible reforms on negative gearing and capital gains tax?

Mr Pyne interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Leader of the House will cease interjecting!

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Of the $40 billion in budget improvement measures that we set out in our budget—he is a little excited, though, Mr Speaker—that we took to the Australian people, $25 billion of those measures related to payment savings and $15 billion of those measures related to revenue. There was a balance of the two to ensure that we bring the budget back to balance. We think we got the balance right when it comes to the balance between taxes and expenditures. As a government we have always ensured that, where our expenditure has increased, we have offset that with payment savings—not revenue increases, but payment savings. When we have gone to the Australian people and we have said that we are going to cut taxes—as we have done for personal income tax and legislated through this place—or when we have gone to the Australian people, as we have said, and we have said we want businesses, particularly small businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million, to be able to access a lower rate of tax and to access the instant asset write-off and the pool depreciation provisions, we have offset the cost of revenue—

Dr Chalmers interjecting—

Tony Smith (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Rankin will cease interjecting. He has asked his question.

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

with other revenue measures. That is how you actually drive yourself towards a budget balance. But those opposite are a one-trick pony when it comes to the budget, and the only thing that they are able to come up with is to tax people more. They are addicted to tax and, rather than try and ease the burden on Australian businesses so they can give Australians more opportunity for more hours, they just want to keep squeezing that tax lemon as hard as they possibly can. That presents a great threat to our economy.

The United Kingdom will bring down their autumn statement tonight, and we already know that they have put the UK on a trajectory to one of the lowest tax rates in the advanced world. We know that the Trump administration will be seeking to do exactly the same thing, and we have already moved in our budget to take Australia down a similar path. Those opposite plan to strand Australian businesses in a high-tax environment where they cannot invest, where they cannot attract capital and where they cannot provide additional working hours and additional wages to working Australians.

This is a leader of the opposition who, rather than following the economic policy advice of Bob Hawke, has become an acolyte of Bob Brown when it comes to economic policy. He is the Jeremy Corbyn of Australian politics, appealing to the Bernie Sanders and all the rest of them. This is a leader of the opposition who is so indulgent in cynical politics that he cannot find his way to the surface again.