15 January 2019

OECD report highlights low taxes are key to competitiveness

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Corporate Tax Statistics report released today makes it clear Australia’s marginal effective corporate tax rate is on the upper end when compared to other OECD countries and that lower taxes are important for competitiveness.

This report follows the OECD’s Economic Survey in Australia, released in December, where they recognised the current strength of the Australian economy which they “projected to continue at a robust pace” and noted our debt-to-GDP ratio “remains relatively low”, providing “sufficient room to support activity… in the event of an unexpected downturn”.

The OECD’s Corporate Tax Statistic Report shows the downward global trend on corporate tax rates, with the average rate falling by 7.2 percentage points from 28.6 per cent in 2000 to 21.4 per cent in 2018. The OECD report highlights that tax is a factor that drives cross-jurisdiction competitiveness for investment.

The Liberal National Government introduced legislation to reduce Australia’s company tax rate and increase our competitiveness internationally, but Labor voted against this tax relief.

In typical Bill Shorten style he says one thing while doing the opposite. While Minister for Financial Services, Mr Shorten said “Any student of Australian business and economic history since the mid-80s knows that part of Australia’s success was derived through reduction in the company tax rate.”  But when faced with legislation to do exactly that, Bill Shorten back flipped. Labor simply cannot be trusted.

Since, our Government has prioritised providing tax relief for small business, securing the passage of Legislation last October that fast-tracked tax relief for Australia’s 3 million small and medium sized businesses five years earlier than planned. 

As a Government we are committed to supporting business, recognising that it’s the private sector that employs around nine in every 10 Australian workers.  We understand that by providing tax relief, businesses keep more of their own money and have more to invest back into their business – to create jobs, to boost productivity and grow.

What we won’t do is disadvantage businesses by increasing taxes, as Labor is planning to do.

At a time when Australia is facing global economic headwinds, Labor’s plan is to introduce more than $200 billion in new taxes, that’s taxes on your business, your home, your savings, your energy bills and your income.

Providing tax relief is part of our plan for a stronger economy to guarantee the essential services that Australians rely on.