“While it is not a surprise, the rejection by the Senate of the remainder of the Government’s Enterprise Tax Plan and its subsequent withdrawal by the Government is a major setback for Australian competitiveness and, ultimately, also a setback for future living standards, Mr Willox, Chief Executive Innes Willox said.
“The drive to improve the fundamentals of our economy cannot stop with this setback. But, to be more successful there is a clear need to reassess how this drive can gain more traction.
“In particular, proponents of measures to lift productivity and encourage greater investment as a critical foundation of future social progress now need to reassess how to build a wider base of support. We need to create much greater recognition of the links between business success, employment growth and improved opportunities and living standards. Our failure to make these links has been a significant part of the lack of Parliamentary support for the remainder of the Enterprise Tax Plan.
“Ai Group remains firmly of the view that a reduction in the company tax rate should be a central component of a broader plan to improve our tax arrangements. Our present tax system falls short on all of the principles of good taxation and there is clear scope to improve its competitiveness, its sustainability and its fairness,” Mr Willox said.