Standing Committee on Employment, Education
and Workplace Relations
Public Hearing in Canberra, June 10
Dr Brendan Nelson, MP, Chair of the House of Representatives Standing
Committee on Employment, Education and Workplace Relations announced
that the committee will hold a public hearing for its inquiry into employee
share ownership plans, in Canberra on 10 June 1999.
Representatives of the Australian Taxation Office will be giving evidence.
Dr Nelson said: 'A number of companies have told us that the compliance
cost of the taxation legislation discourages small companies from setting
up an employee share plan. Larger companies have said that the tax laws
are unnecessarily restrictive and complex. They claim these factors
deter the growth and uptake of employee share plans.'
'Many share plans operate through trusts. The Ralph Review has proposed
that trusts be taxed in a similar way to companies. However, we have
been told that this would jeopardise the viability of employee share
plans.'
'The Australian Taxation Office, in its submission to the inquiry,
raised concerns about protecting Australia's revenue base. Recently
a number of aggressively marketed tax minimisation schemes have been
developed, based on incentives available for employee share ownership
plans.'
'Employee share ownership schemes are widely used in other countries
as a means of encouraging national savings. The Committee is keen to
examine any barriers to this occurring in Australia.'
Public Hearing
10 June - Canberra
Venue: Parliament House, Committee Room 1R3
9:00-10:00 Australian Taxation Office
Terms of reference
The extent to which employee share ownership schemes have been established
in Australian enterprises and the resultant effects on:
(a) workplace relations and productivity in enterprises; and
(b) the economy.
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