David Leyonhjelm (NSW, Liberal Democratic Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to oppose the misnamed Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Integrity and Other Measures No. 2) Bill 2018. It's not about tax integrity; it's about tax increases, and specifically about corporate tax increases. The coalition government pretends to be a low-tax party by calling for modest reductions in the corporate tax rate, but what it does on the quiet is regularly ramp up corporate tax, such as through this bill.

For instance, when there are various interpretations about how the tax regimes of different countries interact, the bill requires that the interpretation that leads to the highest tax being payable is the interpretation that must apply. The bill denies imputation credits in certain circumstances. The bill reduces access to a film producer offset. The bill reduces access to an exemption for foreign branch income. The bill denies deductions for certain payments made by banks. The bill removes a provision that treated certain income received by Australian companies as non-assessable.

This all represents a creeping corporate tax hike and makes the tax law that little bit more complicated. This all makes it less and less likely that global businesses will establish operations in Australia, will invest in Australia and will employ Australians. Those who hate business, particularly those businesses that dare to look beyond national borders, will cheer this bill—or they would if they bothered to turn up to this empty Senate chamber. But those people are unwittingly driving us slowly to oblivion.