2 hours ago
Labor promises exemptions for small businesses, startups and some trusts after backlash against CGT reforms
Patrick Commins
Anthony Albanese has lifted the threshold for small businesses to get an exemption from CGT to $10m, five times the previous level as the government responds to criticism about its tax reforms.
Ahead of a consultation paper to be released later this morning, the prime minster said “we’re also proposing to introduce a new innovative business tax concession for start-ups”, addressing another concern that entrepreneurs could be treated too punitively under the proposed change from a flat 50% CGT discount to an inflation-linked model.
“Genuine” testamentary discretionary trusts – used to manage estates and wills – would also get an exemption from the proposed 30% minimum tax, Albanese said.
Key events
Benita Kolovos
Labor ministers dismiss opposition’s vote of no confidence
Victorian Labor ministers have dismissed the opposition’s plan to move a motion of no confidence in the premier, Jacinta Allan, when parliament resumes in July, given it is bound to fail.
As we previously reported, under the state constitution, the opposition can move a single motion of no confidence in the premier once every four-year term. If the motion is successful, it could lead to the dissolution of parliament, but Labor’s commanding majority means this will not occur.
Minister Steve Dimopoulos said the vote was a “ridiculous stunt”. He told reporters outside parliament this morning:
They know this isn’t going to get done. The numbers aren’t there for [it to succeed]. You know that this is just the Liberal party is trying to distract the Victorian community from their $40bn worth of cuts over the next four years. That’s what they’re trying to distract from by making it all about us.
Minister Anthony Carbines:
You get one opportunity a term to pull that lever. I suppose they’ve got limited time in which to do that. It’s just a matter for them, we’re just focused on getting things done.
He added: “past performance is a history of future performance with regard to no confidence motion.” (The last one, against then-premier Daniel Andrews during the grips of the pandemic failed).
Asked about Pauline Hanson’s speech at the NPC yesterday, Taylor said he had no problem with people speaking other languages but that everyone “should learn English”.
If she wants to judge people based on the colour of their skin or their race, One Nation needs to explain that. They need to explain that.
But our position on this is clear. Now, migration in this country has been too high, the standards have been too low, and that must change.
But what we favour is a values-based immigration policy where people who come to this country adopt our core values. And that is regardless of race or religion or where they come from - we expect them to adopt those core values.
That’s our position. That’s very clear.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor is speaking in Sydney. He says he will fight the government’s changes to CGT “all the way”.
He said:
These taxes are a loss for hardworking small businesses but he’s sending a new signal to this.
Which is don’t grow your business. Don’t grow your business.
I mean, that’s exactly the kind of signal you’d expect from this Prime Minister and this Treasurer who have never worked in businesses, they don’t understand them.
They’re sending a new signal - don’t grow. Don’t grow.
If you don’t grow the business, you don’t grow the country, you don’t grow incomes, you don’t grow employment, you don’t grow hope, you don’t grow opportunity, you don’t grow aspiration.
Patrick Commins
Millions of small businesses to get ‘generous’ capital gains tax concessions
Jim Chalmers says the government’s proposed amendments to its tax legislation means 2.7m small businesses will now be eligible for capital gains tax concessions, which covers 98% of all active businesses in the country.
“There are four existing concessions for businesses in the CGT system. We’re leaving all four in place, but we’re making one of them substantially broader and significantly more generous at the same time,” the treasurer said.
The government plans to pass its tax bill in the next sitting of parliament, which starts next week.
Vodafone issue resolved, with services coming back online
Vodafone said the issue affecting connectivity on its network this morning has been isolated and resolved, and services are being progressively restored.
The company had this to say:
The disruption was caused by an outage at one of our network hubs at around 8am. Most services have now been restored, however some may continue to experience intermittent issues as devices reconnect.
Customers who could not access the Vodafone network should have been able to access Triple Zero by connecting to other available mobile networks during this time.
We apologise for the inconvenience and recommend customers restart their devices to help restore connections.
Albanese says SBS and ABC play ‘vital roles in our democracy’
The prime minister was asked briefly about his support for SBS and the ABC after Pauline Hanson said she would axe or dramatically roll back the public broadcasters.
SBS plays a really important role … They play a really important role. And I think that the idea that you just exclude media and abolish SBS is what they’re talking about … I would hope that all media organisations come out and oppose that.
Because they’re vital roles in our democracy.
Read more here:
Albanese says GetUp stunt at Pauline Hanson speech was ‘counterproductive’
The prime minister was asked about the banner unfurled during Pauline Hanson’s address at the press club in Canberra yesterday. He said:
I think in general, sometimes actions can be counterproductive, and I think that was as well.
He was asked about the rise in support for One Nation, saying Labor would continue to advocate for “what we regard as the national interest”, something he said he didn’t believe Hanson spoke about yesterday in her speech:
I’m not someone who goes to a media conference and says, ‘I won’t answer questions from some groups’. … What I’m concerned about is what do we need to do, as government, to set Australia up for the future.
Labor promises exemptions for small businesses, startups and some trusts after backlash against CGT reforms
Patrick Commins
Anthony Albanese has lifted the threshold for small businesses to get an exemption from CGT to $10m, five times the previous level as the government responds to criticism about its tax reforms.
Ahead of a consultation paper to be released later this morning, the prime minster said “we’re also proposing to introduce a new innovative business tax concession for start-ups”, addressing another concern that entrepreneurs could be treated too punitively under the proposed change from a flat 50% CGT discount to an inflation-linked model.
“Genuine” testamentary discretionary trusts – used to manage estates and wills – would also get an exemption from the proposed 30% minimum tax, Albanese said.
Jim Chalmers announces ‘generous’ CGT concessions for small businesses
Our reporters are digging through the changes, but the treasurer said they will include “generous” concessions for the 2.7m active small businesses in Australia.
Jim Chalmers says the tax reforms are “all about making it easier for people to own their first homes”, but he understands that there will “never” be a unanimous view about economic reform.
It’s unusual for big ambitious tax reform like this to involve a lot of consultation … It’s always contested, it’s always contentious. But it will be worth it.
We are delivering real change here. And it means that the details that that we have outlined today will provide a bit more clarity and confidence to investors, more support for small businesses also increase those incentives for innovation.
The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, and the treasurer, Jim Chalmers, are detailing the carve-outs to the budget changes to the capital gains tax discount. We’ll bring you more shortly.
