Why has there been no public inquiry into one of the largest hits on Australia’s revenue in recent times?
The Coalition’s company tax cuts represent one of the largest hits to our revenue in recent times, so it comes as a surprise that the legislation has not even been subject to an inquiry.
For those keen to point out that this legislation represents ‘just’ the company tax cuts for big business, and that the legislation was subject to inquiry in its original form, you would be only half right.
Its predecessor, the Enterprise Tax Plan №1, was sent to inquiry but was only open for public submissions for eight days (and two of those days were a weekend) with the committee reporting just 17 days later (including 6 days of weekend, and a number of public holidays depending on the state). And the thing is, there were no public hearings.
Given the tax cuts don’t kick in for big business for more than four years, why do they need to be rushed through the Senate before Easter, without so much as a proper investigation?
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