Real Action to End the Waste and Deliver Lower, Fairer and Simpler Taxes

12/08/10

It is time to take real action to end the waste and to lower the tax burden on Australians.

Every dollar that the Government has it holds on trust from the taxpayer.

The Rudd-Gillard Government’s reckless and wasteful spending, its nearly $90 billion debt, $57 billion budget deficit and government borrowings of $100 million a day have put the Australian economy in a vulnerable position and will lead to higher taxes and higher interest rates in the future.

Through strong economic management and a responsible and disciplined budget approach the former Coalition Government was able to reduce income taxes; provide targeted tax assistance to families; reduce taxes on business; abolish a series of archaic, complex and out of date taxes; and improve and simplify tax administration.

In contrast, since coming to office in 2007, Labor has not removed a single tax and has increased the tax burden for business and families.

The Coalition is committed to delivering lower, fairer and simpler taxes for Australian families and businesses.

We have already announced a commitment to reduce the company tax rate from 30 per cent to 28.5 per cent, commencing on 1 July 2013.

This is a step in the right direction – but further reform is needed.

To improve transparency in the taxation system, the Coalition will, if elected, introduce a Tax Receipt for PAYE taxpayers.

Under the Coalition, every PAYE taxpayer will receive a taxation receipt that provides details on how their tax money has been spent and the level of Australian Government debt.

This initiative will help put pressure on government to ensure that tax revenue collected is spent wisely.

Tax payers have a right to know exactly how their money is being spent and this will force the Government to be more accountable to tax payers who rightly feel they are being ripped off.

Other elements of the Coalition’s tax policy include: cancelling the Minerals Resource Rent Tax; stopping Labor’s Carbon Tax; publicly releasing all Henry Tax Review Information within a month of coming to office as the basis for a fully transparent and informed public discussion; and developing a Taxation White Paper to determine a comprehensive tax reform agenda in consultation with the Australian people.

Our key objectives for further taxation reform will be the delivery of lower, simpler and fairer taxes for Australian families, households and businesses. Central to this will be the delivery of significant personal income tax cuts through lower and flatter tax rates.

We will then seek a second-term mandate for this tax reform agenda by putting our proposals to the people at the subsequent federal election.

Office of Due Diligence and other measures

Over the last three years Labor’s failure to properly manage programmes has resulted in billions of wasted taxpayer dollars. Labor’s ‘pink batts’ and ‘school halls’ programmes are just two examples where a failure of government to apply due diligence led to disastrous consequences.

The Coalition is determined to stop these crimes against the taxpayer and we will introduce strong new measures to stop the waste.

Under the Coalition, every new major government spending programme will be properly assessed for its capacity for waste, abuse and mismanagement BEFORE it commences.

An Office of Due Diligence will be established within the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, comprising officials seconded from the Australian National Audit Office and the Commonwealth Ombudsman as well as people with private sector contracting expertise.

The Office of Due Diligence will examine programmes before they are approved by Cabinet to ensure that each project is: efficiently designed; has a detailed implementation plan; and will be implemented in a manner that provides maximum value for the taxpayer.

All proposed spending programmes with a value of more than $100 million will require the preparation of a detailed implementation plan.

The Coalition has already announced that an elected Coalition government will establish a Parliamentary Budget Office, similar to the US Congressional Budget Office.

The Parliamentary Budget Office would be accountable to the Parliament, not to the Executive and would undertake cost-benefit analyses for all major new government spending decisions. It would be a politically independent alternative to the Treasury as a potential source of policy advice and economic research.

An elected Coalition government will also insert a ‘value for money’ criteria into the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997, mandating the consideration of ‘value for money’ in the use of Commonwealth resources.