PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS
Ms CAMPBELL (Moreton) (17:42): I note that the member for Cook calls on the government to deliver genuine tax relief that supports aspiration, enterprise and economic growth. and I congratulate him for summarising Labor's tax reform so very well. When we look at these tax reforms, the key word is 'reform'; it's to make an improvement to a system. The tax system wasn't working for too many Australians.
If, like the opposition, you reckon that our housing and tax system is fine, if you reckon that everything is hunky dory, if you want to back in the status quo, quite frankly, it means that you haven't spoken to a young person. Young people, we know, are struggling when it comes to getting into their very first home. If you think everything's fine, it means you haven't spoken to a parent worried that their children simply won't get the same opportunities they had when it comes to housing.
If you think everything is fine, quite frankly, I think it means that you haven't spoken to anyone in your electorate, because this is what comes up, again and again and again. The member for Forrest has tried to use alliteration as a veil today, but alliteration will not save you from the fact that the coalition had the highest-taxing government in this nation's history, and alliteration won't save you from the fact that, on a tax-to-GDP ratio, it's got two of the very highest taxing governments in this country.
On Wednesday, over 14 million Australians will get another tax cut. Labor's combined tax cuts mean that a worker on average wages will pay up to $2,800 less than what we inherited. These are real changes.
We know that thousands and thousands of people will be able to get into their very first home because of this legislation. We know that every tax Australian will get a tax cut because of these changes, and we know that, when a coalition imposed 50 per cent CGT discount, ripped the market apart, distorted it, saw an insatiable investment in property and a major fall in investment in shares, something needed to be done about that, and this is what this legislation does.
Not only that, it also goes to investing in our small businesses and to supporting them. The 2.7 million small businesses in Australia are central to our economy. They're the biggest employer across the breadth and depth of this nation, and we're backing them with $3.5 billion of tax relief.
We're expanding CGT concessions, increasing the turnover threshold for the existing small-business 50 per cent active asset CGT reduction. We're introducing and making permanent that 20 per cent instant asset write-off so businesses can invest with more confidence. There is $890 million in cash-flow support for over five years to cut compliance costs by around $32 million a year and a permanent two-year loss carry-back for companies with a turnover of up to $1 billion, all from Wednesday 1 July.
There is loss refundability to help those start-ups who are trying to get off their feet in the first two years, tax incentives for venture capital to attract more investment and $1.5 million for sole traders to benefit from our $250 tax offset and innovative business CGT concessions. The list goes on. Again, this is a budget and this is legislation that the coalition voted against.
When they voted against it, they voted against those benefits for small business. When they voted against it, they voted against first home buyers trying to get into their first home to open the door to their life. When they voted against it, they voted against that tax cut for everyday Australians.
Labor inherited $1 trillion of debt, bigger deficits and stagnant wage growth from the coalition, and, in every budget since, we've found those savings. This budget is our most responsible yet, because we know that Australians are doing it tough, and the savings that we've found mean that we can deliver real cost-of-living relief. It delivers lower deficits and less debt in every year, and I'm very proud of it.
The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Aldred ): The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.