Transcript No. 2000/12

TRANSCRIPT OF

TREASURER

SUBJECT: Tax Reform and Rural and Regional Australia

Mr Costello, do you believe the Government can meet its promise that no one will be

worse off, no one will pay higher petrol prices under the GST?

Well, we’ve said and what we intend to deliver on is the following. Ten per cent

cut for all businesses, especially bush businesses that use petrol – 10 per cent cut. In

relation to diesel excise, more than a 50 per cent cut from 43 cents to 20 cents. And in

relation to prices generally, a reduction in excise. So that’s a great package and

when you put it together with the following for regional and rural Australia: no tax on

exports; capital gains tax cut in half; for farms a provision whereby if you’ve held

an asset for 15 years and you sell to retire, no capital gains tax; the biggest cut in

capital gains tax that there’s been. When you put it together with the simplified

taxation system, which is for, I think, 96 per cent of farmers reduced taxes, improved

depreciation, simplified account keeping, write-offs in pooling arrangements. Tax reform

will be delivering huge benefits for farmers and rural and regional Australia . . .

(inaudible)

. . . the best tax package for rural and regional Australia that we’ve ever had.

Now if we don’t go on and implement the tax package, then what farmers wouldn’t

be getting would be, they wouldn’t, they would have taxes on their exports, they

would have higher capital gains taxes, they would have higher company taxes, they would

have more complicated depreciation and all of those things, so . . .

(inaudible)

. . . there are enormous benefits for rural and regional Australia from the

Government’s package.

Will you be heading out to the bush to sell this message?

Yes. Well as I said, I’m working on this year’s Budget at the moment and

implementing tax reform. And one of the things we always do is we make sure we do rural

and regional radio, explaining the benefits to rural and regional Australia, which are

very substantial. And I think when you put together this package which would be the best

package that rural and regional Australia has ever seen, let’s go through it: 10 per

cent reduction in petrol excise for anybody in business; a reduction in diesel excise from

43 cents to 20 cents for transport; a taking of all taxes off exports and remember rural

Australia is predominantly export-oriented; the abolition of capital gains tax if a

farmer’s held an asset for 15 years and retired; the halving of capital gains tax

generally. Plus the new simplified taxation system which is the lower company taxes,

preservation and enhancement of depreciation benefits, simplified pooling arrangements.

That I think I could say is, the tax reductions from that probably are the best package

that’s ever been put together . . .

Is it possible . . .

. . . in tax terms for rural and regional Australia. Thank you