Joe Hockey should today declare whether he supports the Government's crackdown on multinational tax loopholes.
The Gillard Government announced a range of measures in the Budget to tighten tax rules and clamp down on abuses of tax concessions by large multinational corporations.
Combined with measures already brought before Parliament, the Government is protecting more than $14 billion in revenue.
However, Mr Hockey has so far failed to back the measures:
We don't like these changes and if we had a choice we would not accept them.
[SPEECH - AUSTRALIAN MINES AND METALS ASSOCIATION (AMMA) NATIONAL CONFERENCE – 17 MAY 2013]
These measures are part of the Government's broader agenda to tackle profit shifting and aggressive tax minimisation by some of the world's most profitable companies so that we have a level playing field in Australia for businesses that are doing the right thing.
The Gillard Government is committed to ensuring that large multinational companies pay their fair share of tax so that families, pensioners and small businesses do not have to take on a higher burden of taxation in the future.
Mr Hockey and his Opposition colleagues have voted against every amendment the Government has introduced to Parliament to close down on corporate tax loopholes and protect Australia's revenue base and now they are flip-flopping on the measures announced in the Budget.
The Gillard Government will stand up for families and small businesses while Mr Hockey and the Coalition will allow these loopholes to continue.