Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer remind the House of the Morrison government's strong record on cutting taxes for Australian businesses, workers and families, and is the Treasurer aware of any constructive proposals being put forward as alternatives to this government's tax policy?

Josh Frydenberg (Kooyong, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Stirling for his question and acknowledge his experience in the Defence Force, with his having served in East Timor before coming to this place. He knows that, as a result of policies that have been adopted and legislated by those on this side of the House, more than 60,000 taxpayers in the member for Stirling's electorate are getting a tax cut and more than 20,000 businesses in the member for Stirling's electorate are eligible to apply for the supercharged instant asset write-off.

We on this side of the House believe in lower taxes. We don't just talk about them. We actually deliver them. We have seen passed through the parliament the most significant income tax cuts in a generation. What we are doing, through our legislated tax cuts, is abolishing a whole tax bracket. The 37c-in-the-dollar tax bracket is going. We're going to see Australians who earn between $45,000 and $200,000 a year pay a marginal rate of no more than 30c in the dollar. It's not just income tax cuts that we have delivered and will continue to deliver, including structural reform, but small-business tax cuts. If you are a business with a turnover of less than $50 million your tax rate has been reduced to 25c in the dollar from 1 July. We have also put in place the most significant immediate expensing expanded instant asset write-off initiative. If you're a barista and you want a new coffee machine, you write it all off in year 1. If you're a tradie and you want new tools, you write it all off in year 1. If you're a farmer who wants to buy a new harvester, you write it all off in year 1. If you're a manufacturer who wants to expand your production line, you write it all off in year 1. If you're a retailer who wants a new shop fit-out, you write it all off in year 1.

We on this side of the House believe in investment, jobs and lower taxes. And we also believe in initiatives like the patent box, which were put in place in this year's budget, which will see a concessional company tax rate of 17 per cent for businesses in the medical and biotech space so that businesses like cochlear can invest and innovate, and receive an incentive to do so. Our policies are designed to encourage aspiration, to reward effort and to lower taxes for Australian families and businesses. Those opposite only stand for higher taxes. We saw that at the last election—$387 billion of higher taxes. We know they've done a backflip on stage 3, but no-one believes them. Everyone knows they're the party of higher taxes. There's only one party in this parliament that believes in lower taxes, and it sits on this side of the House, it's led by this Prime Minister and it's delivered lower taxes for Australian families and businesses.