Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has taken his negativity to a new low, today confirming that the Liberal Party of Menzies and Howard will actually vote against tax cuts for companies including small business.
This is despite legislation for the business tax cuts to be considered separately to the Minerals Resource Rent Tax legislation currently before the Senate.
Mr Abbott told 2SM radio this morning:
Interviewer: The Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan has challenged you to support the Government's proposed tax cuts for small businesses. Where do you actually stand on that?
Abbott: Well we've always said that we don't support the mining tax and we're not going to support the mining tax and we're not going to support the other measures associated with it.
This is a direct backflip from what Mr Abbott said last year:
"I'm not going to answer a hypothetical question, but I am going to state a very clear principle. First, the Government should keep its commitments and second, we support company tax cuts."
Tony Abbott - West Australian - 30 March 2011
This is perhaps the biggest test Tony Abbott has faced as Opposition Leader - will he order his Liberal party colleagues to vote against a tax cut for small businesses so he can give Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart a huge tax cut instead?
If Mr Abbott follows through with this latest effort to wreck vital economic policy, he will be forever recorded in the history books as the Liberal leader who voted against a tax cut for small business.
John Howard and Peter Costello and other Liberal leaders must be beside themselves that Tony Abbott is set to destroy the reputation of the Liberal Party among small business.
Not only is Mr Abbott standing in the way of small business tax cuts, he's also standing in the way of increasing the retirement savings of all working Australians all so he can write an 11-figure cheque to mining billionaires like Clive Palmer and Gina Rinehart.
Under Labor, all companies will receive a one per cent tax cut on 1 July 2013 - with small business receiving the tax cut from 1 July this year.
Labor wants to spread the benefits of the mining boom to all Australians as opposed to the Liberals, who think only a fortunate few deserve to benefit.