Indra Kuruppu
Australian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian Chamber
of Commerce and Industry, James Pearson, says the Budget demonstrates that good
policy can also be good politics, with its focus on the future while providing
real help right now for the ‘engine room of the economy’—small and medium
enterprises. The ten-year glide path to a reduced company tax rate would
encourage international investment. Local development of enterprises and
unincorporated businesses would also benefit through expanding tax discounts.
Mr Pearson also welcomed benefits for small and medium enterprises through
the increases in the instant asset write-off eligibility threshold and company
tax rate at ten million dollar turnover threshold, as well as practical
measures to prepare people for employment and provide meaningful work paths.
Increasing the 32.5 per cent personal income tax threshold was a
start to addressing tax increases through bracket creep, and Mr Pearson looked
forward to this approach continuing. Mr Pearson supported commitments to
infrastructure investment and initiatives to ensure compliance with company tax
obligations.[1]
Australian Conservation Foundation
The Australian Conservation Fund (ACF) has labelled the Budget
as continuing the environmental neglect shown by former Prime Minister Tony
Abbott and choosing the interests of big polluters over those of the community.
It gives as examples that spending on the environment is forecast to fall by 17 per cent
in 2019–20; that there is no reform of fossil fuel subsidies that give public
money to big polluters and divert resources from health, education and
environmental protection; that the $171 million announced for the Great Barrier
Reef will not occur until 2019, and at the expense of other environmental
programs; subsidised loan facilities for new dam development; and significant
cuts to funding for the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder and the
Murray-Darling Basin Authority. While the ACF welcomes funding commitments to
the National Carp Control Plan, it is disappointed that there is no clear
provision for the Indigenous Ranger programs, no commitment to supporting an
energy transition away from coal, and no new money for protected areas or
threatened species recovery.[2]
Australian Council of Social
Service
Australian Council of Social
Service CEO, Dr Cassandra Goldie, has welcomed the tightening of superannuation
tax concessions and changes to youth employment programs, but identified the
failure to strengthen revenue as a major problem that would affect the ability to
properly fund health, education and social security. Cuts affecting low income
earners include cuts from family payments, income support for young people and
paid parental leave as well as Newstart. Dr Goldie was concerned that the
deficit reduction over the next four years has come from the spending side,
with a decline in revenue, failure to address housing affordability or lift
unemployment payments, and failure to address gaps in essential services
including legal assistance, early childhood and homelessness services.[3]
Australian Council of Trade Unions
President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, Ged
Kearney, stated that the Budget delivers a golden handshake to $100 million
corporations and the top one per cent of income earners through
significant tax cuts, while leaving working Australians worse off. In
particular, it neglects tax reform in areas such as capital gains tax and
negative gearing, while leaving workers to bear the brunt of cuts to health,
education and other services over the last three Budgets. Ms Kearney
identified a failure to lay out a clear economic vision to generate jobs
growth, labelling ‘trickle-down’ logic that corporate tax cuts would create
investment or stimulate the economy as a ‘fantasy’. Ms Kearney also raised
concerns about the legality and potential for exploitation in the internship
program and shortfalls in the ability to address multinational tax evasion.[4]
Australian Industry Group
Australian Industry Group (Ai Group) Chief Executive, Innes
Willox, considers the Budget to be good for business. The gradual path to
restoring the competitiveness of the company tax system will result in
immediate benefits to many small to medium-sized businesses as well as improved
incentives to invest, which will also create jobs. Measures including extended
eligibility to small business tax measures and tax relief for small businesses,
together with the increase in the personal income tax threshold, will provide a
timely boost to the economy and underwrite improved living standards. Ai Group
welcomed measures to address tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning, and
stated that new pathways to help young people enter the workforce would assist
the contribution of businesses to improving long-term employment prospects of
eligible young people. Positives include an ongoing commitment to innovation,
improving urban and regional transport infrastructure, the continuation of a
permanent migration program with a strong focus on skilled migration, and renewed
efforts in higher education. The biggest disappointment was significant cuts to
the Industry Skills Fund.[5]
Business Council of Australia
Business Council of Australian (BCA) Chief Executive,
Jennifer Westacott, says the Budget balances spending restraint with new
initiatives to improve the nation’s economic growth prospects and improve
education outcomes. There are welcome structural savings, including changes to
superannuation tax, and the ten-year enterprise tax plan, which will provide
relief for small and medium businesses while signalling to big businesses that
their investment will be more competitive in the future. Education measures
reflect the government’s commitment to preparing young people for the jobs of
the future and deal with unsustainable funding problems in the tertiary system.
Infrastructure planning will continue to support higher productivity and better
lifestyles for many Australians, and continued implementation of the innovation
agenda will strengthen Australia’s comparative advantage as a trusted place to
do business. The BCA voiced support for multinational company tax avoidance
measures and will encourage members to adopt the voluntary Tax Transparency
Code.[6]
National Farmers Federation
National Farmers’ Federation President, Brent Finlay, has
welcomed key Budget measures that will benefit agriculture, including new
initiatives that build on last year’s Agricultural Competitiveness White Paper
and the easing of tax burdens on small business. However, he is angered by the failure
to address damage from the controversial backpacker tax, which will affect the
backpacker workforce on which the agricultural and tourism industries rely.
While Mr Finlay approved of the cash injection for the Inland Rail, he
considered it fell short of the funding needed to break ground on the project.[7]
[1].
J Pearson (Chief Executive Officer, Australian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry), Enterprise
Budget fuels the engine room of the economy, media release, 3 May 2016.
[2].
Australian Conservation Foundation, Turnbull's
first Budget continues the environmental neglect of his predecessor, media release, 3 May 2016
[3].
C.Goldie (Chief Executive Officer, Australian Council of Social
Services), Some
positive directions, but budget locks in harsh cuts—with more likely to come, media release, 3 May 2016.
[4].
G Kearney (President, Australian Council of Trade Unions), Turnbull
fails working Australians and gives golden handshake to big corporations,
media release, 3 May 2016.
[5].
I Willox (Chief Executive, Australian Industry Group), A
good for business Budget, media release, 3 May 2016.
[6].
J Westacott (Chief Executive, Business Council of Australia), BCA
statement on the 2016-17 federal Budget, media release, 3 May 2016.
[7].
B Finlay (President, National Farmers’ Federation), NFF
angered by budget inaction on backpacker tax, media release, 3 May
2016.
All online articles accessed May 2016.
For copyright reasons some linked items are only available to members of Parliament.
© Commonwealth of Australia
Creative Commons
With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms, and to the extent that copyright subsists in a third party, this publication, its logo and front page design are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia licence.
In essence, you are free to copy and communicate this work in its current form for all non-commercial purposes, as long as you attribute the work to the author and abide by the other licence terms. The work cannot be adapted or modified in any way. Content from this publication should be attributed in the following way: Author(s), Title of publication, Series Name and No, Publisher, Date.
To the extent that copyright subsists in third party quotes it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
Inquiries regarding the licence and any use of the publication are welcome to webmanager@aph.gov.au.
This work has been prepared to support the work of the Australian Parliament using information available at the time of production. The views expressed do not reflect an official position of the Parliamentary Library, nor do they constitute professional legal opinion.
Any concerns or complaints should be directed to the Parliamentary Librarian. Parliamentary Library staff are available to discuss the contents of publications with Senators and Members and their staff. To access this service, clients may contact the author or the Library‘s Central Entry Point for referral.