MESSAGE FROM OUR CEO

SMALL BUSINESS TAX CUTS: In an article published The Australian newspaper, 12.10.16, it was reported: “Australia’s tax war has reignited, with Bill Shorten facing fresh warnings over his plan to scale back the government’s proposed corporate rate reductions, as business argues Labor will ¬discourage growth in 100,000 small companies and dampen job ¬creation.”
Conversely, in the same edition of the newspaper, Kate Carnell, Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman wrote: “Despite the benefits of lowering the company tax rate for all businesses, given the present economic and political climate, the path ahead for securing cuts for large companies is certainly politically difficult. We shouldn’t risk tax cuts for small business for the sake of large-scale changes; put simply, we must be careful not to throw the baby overboard with the bathwater.”
Ironically, in that same edition of The Australian newspaper, Labor’s position flies in the face of its Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Dr Andrew Leigh, who called for Labor to take high road on policy: “Labor frontbencher Andrew Leigh has urged the party to embrace an ambitious suite of positive policies and spurn the temptation of negative politics. . .”
In a letter to Bill Shorten CoSBA said for small business the position taken by Labor on blocking the tax cuts for small business proposed by the Government, to say the least was reprehensible and portrays a perception of Labor being anti-small business. And also said that in the spirit of bi-partisanship and a demonstration of support for small business we urge the cooperation of Labor in supporting the Government’s small business tax cuts.
‘Business tells Labor ‘don’t block our tax cuts’ reports The Australian newspaper on13.10.16: “Leading business figures are intervening in the tax debate by calling on parliament to pass the government’s plan to reduce the corporate rate to 25 per cent over the decade, arguing that it will charge growth in smaller enterprises. . . The Business Council of Australia warned Labor yesterday against blocking the government’s 10-year tax package, accusing it of adopting a “cottage industry” view of the world —”
UNION CONTROL: AMWU in bid to take on contractors, reports The Australian, October 6, 2016: “Independent contractors would be legally represented by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union under a plan to arrest the union’s declining membership by seeking rule changes. AMWU national secretary Paul Bastian said yesterday the union had applied to change its rules to allow independent contractors to become members.”
However, Ken Phillips CEO of the Independent Contractors Association, who is keeping a close watch on this move by the union, says: “[If] the AMWU applies to FWA [the Fair Work Commission] I think to change their constitution to represent ICs [Independent Contractors], who are not employees and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the FWA. The FWA only has jurisdiction to investigate sham contracting.
But this is unions trying to price fix on commercial contracts the same issue the TWU did with the truckies. The question is does the constitution give the commonwealth the power to price fix commercial contracts through the IR system. Now there is an interesting question and one to resolve that needs a case and big $$$$s on lawyers.”
CoSBA for our part will also be keeping a close watch on the move by the union, another Don Quixote stunt, and we will offer whatever support within our capacity in fighting the unions audacious move.
THE AUDACIOUS PURSUIT continues, The West Australian, October 6, 2016, under the heading ‘Miners start online fight to kill off tax’, reports: “The mining industry has struck back at the WA Nationals’ proposed $7.2 billion mining tax with the launch of a new website encouraging users to lobby their local MPs against it.”
“Mr Gryfls has previously complained that Rio Tinto’s encouragement of its workers to write personally to him opposing the policy had resulted in threats. Yesterday, he criticised the website-generated emails for being pro forma.
“If Western Australians want to have their say on whether the big miners should be paying more than 250/tonne in production rent fees, a charge that has not been increased for 50 years, then they can contact me using their own words,” Mr Grylls said.”
“MCA chief executive Brendan Pearson said the website was necessary because Mr Grylls had been “peddling incorrect statements”.
However, ‘Grylls’s state impost on mining giants divides Nationals’ reports The Australian newspaper on13.10.16: “The Nationals have been split by a row between federal leader Barnaby Joyce and his renegade West Australian counterpart, Brendon Grylls, after Mr Joyce called on Mr Grylls to drop his planned $7.2 billion mining tax on BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto. . . Mr Grylls said he would not back down on the issue. “How dare Malcolm Turnbull seek to lecture the West Australian people on raising new revenue sources to counteract the disgraceful GST treatment we receive when he himself has admitted it is unfair.””