QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:01): I thank the senator for the question, and I thank him for the opportunity to confirm that the government will continue to consult in relation to a range of implementation details around the minimum tax on trusts, and that includes the appropriate arrangements for donations and distributions to charities and other tax exempt entities, including religious groups.

It is a good practice for these sorts of implementation details to be the subject of consultation. That is what the government is engaging in, and the government is working through the feedback in the usual way. I would make the point that the overarching purpose of the government's tax reforms are to deliver real change, to make the tax system fairer for working Australians and to help more young people realise the dream of homeownership.

As I have outlined to this chamber previously, the tax reforms are designed to better align the treatment of income earnt from work compared to income derived from assets. That is because we understand that the vast majority of Australians make a living through the work that they do, the labour they provide to the economy. That is how they provide for their family.

That is how they put food on the table. And we believe it is important to better align the tax treatment of income generated from work as compared to income derived from assets. I acknowledge that the issues you have raised in relation to charities have, I think, been publicly reported, and I'm sure that the Treasury will work through that in consultation.

(Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator Smith, first supplementary?