AAP | 6 November 2013
Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey
Canberra | Treasurer Joe Hockey says the government will raise $10.9 billion in revenue from 18 tax initiatives that were previously unlegislated.
Hockey and Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos have been reviewing a host of unlegislated tax proposals that have been stuck in the Federal Government pending tray and dating back to 2001.
There were 96 in total, including four that involved the carbon and mining tax packages that will be ditched by the Coalition government.
Of the remaining 92, the government only plans to definitely go ahead with 18.
“We are drawing a line in the sand,” Hockey told reporters in Sydney.
“You cannot go forward with a complicated and unresolved taxation system if you want to give business and consumers the best hope that what they work hard to achieve will be achieved.”
Hockey said any taxpayer who had already complied with any of the Labor tax proposals which the government won’t proceed with will get a tax refund.
“And for anyone who has self-assessed with an announced tax change that the government will not proceed with, we will legislate to ensure you have no liability,” Hockey said.
He said the government had a “disposition” not to proceed with a further 64 Labor tax initiatives and a decision on them would be made by December 1 and announced in the mid-year fiscal and economic outlook due before Christmas.
Hockey said some of the unlegislated but announced tax proposals dated back to 2001.
“This is a legacy of laziness that has left taxpayers confused,” he said.
Assistant Treasurer Arthur Sinodinos said the review of the 64 measures was aimed at working out their policy intent and looking at the compliance costs or benefits of each.
“We’ve been prepared to take a bit of a hit to the revenue in order to have a process which gives people more time on certain measures which have been outstanding,” he said.
“We’re asking people to provide reasons why they think something should proceed and we’ll use that process to make final decisions.”
Some of the measures appeared to create major compliance and red tape issues.
The assistant treasurer singled out Labor’s proposed tax increase on superannuation of more than $100,000, saying it would be very complex to administer and place extra burdens on superannuation funds, the tax office and individuals.
“If you fluctuated and the earnings went above $100,000 and you fell into the net then this whole process was triggered even if the year after you would fall out of the net again,” he said.
Work was also underway by the Board of Taxation on reviewing trusts, separate to Wednesday’s announcement, he said.
“I am not pushing them to report prematurely,” Sinodinos said.
However he noted he had “scar tissue” from the political debate in the early 2000s over changes to taxing trusts.
Hockey has promised to deliver the mid-year budget review before Christmas, but he says the budget has deteriorated since the last update.
“We are methodically and carefully going through every cupboard,” Hockey said.
The decision to tidy up these pending tax changes comes on top recent actions to lift the debt ceiling and releasing a new statement on the conduct with monetary policy with the Reserve Bank.
“We are clearing the decks,” he said.
“Australians are going to cheer at that, I am sure.”
Hockey said MYEFO would “illustrate graphically the problem we have inherited”.
“The budget will offer the solution and in the interim I want the Australian people to go out and spend for Christmas,” he said.
Image: AAP
