Censorship directly from our prime minister
Reducing tax for companies (ie those few who still pay a bit of tax) means the rest of us pay higher taxes and fees - and wages stay low.
After complaints from Malcolm Turnbull, ABC News has removed an analysis piece about the government’s proposed corporate tax cuts by economics correspondent Emma Alberici.
“in her analysis Alberici had argued that there was no case for a corporate tax cut when one in five companies did not pay tax.”
And its a myth that tax cuts give workers higher wages .......
“Since the peak of the commodities boom in 2011-12, profit margins have risen to levels not seen since the early 2000s but wages growth has been slower than at any time since the 1960s.”
She wasn’t ‘gagged and censored’ - the ABC took down the article beacause it was simply incorrect.....and (although it’s often difficult to see) the ABC’s supposed to be in the real new business. That’s one where your chief economist reports correct information.
You have challenged bloggers to prove that tax cuts will increase jobs and growth, kika. In the same vein, let me ask you to show us proof that the companies you have mentioned have paid no tax.
Let me help;
BHP's tax bill was almost $4 billion.
Rio Tinto paid $3 billion to the ATO.
The big four banks are the next highest tax payers.
Commonwealth Bank handed over close to $3 billion.
Westpac paid tax of close to $2.5 billion.
ANZ paid the ATO took close to $2 billion.
NAB's tax bill hit more than $2 billion.
There are good reasons some companies pay no tax, the most obvious being that they have not made a profit. Just because sales revenues seem high doesn’t mean large black numbers appear at the bottom of the profit and loss statement year in, year out.
The mistake made by too many commentators, including Alberici, is the assertion that large sales revenues must surely be linked to paying a lot of tax. That is, companies that sell a lot should pay a lot of tax. This is piffle, but she picks on Qantas notwithstanding.
Qantas has not paid any company tax for some years because of the accumulation of heavy losses it has made in previous years.
In 2013 alone it made a loss of nearly $3 billion. The company still has accumulated losses of nearly $1bn before it begins to pay company tax again. This should happen next year.
Judith Stone Econonmist
All of Qantas’s staff pay tax
if not for Qantas - there’s be thousand unemployed
I am not a company but I am legally carrying forward losses on shares and when the time comes to sell others that will make me a profit I will deduct the losses.
Perfectly legitimate.
. Contrary to Alberici’s assertion that it is large companies that are avoiding paying tax, there is little doubt that most of the tax-fiddling occurs within small businesses. The scope for cash transactions, calling private benefits business expenses (the lease cost of the wife’s car, for instance) and living out of the till are all examples of small businesses minimising their tax obligations. None of these options is available to large businesses.
Accelerated capital allowances and Research and development incentives all add growth and new Jobs to the economy
Perhaps she would like salaries paid to workers to stop being allowed as a deduction .
The ABC has removed an article by one of its most high-profile journalists criticising the Turnbull government’s proposed company tax cuts, on the grounds that it “did not meet ABC editorial standards”.
In in other words it was a load of old leftie garbage .
Imagine how many other companies and employees are indirectly supported by Qantas
Food catering and cleaning services immediately come to mind
Profits distributed as dividends to shareholders are taxed at their marginal rates
i suspect brocky and raphael are the same entity, employed by the liberal party. he is likely to be a paid troll, and perhaps just a little one-sided.
I get paid $100 per post by the party
Brocky only gets $50 but don’t tell him that
Yeah but I get paid by the CIA to promote US interests but don’t tell anyone .
Can someone please explain why Australian taxpayers are paying a huge salary to an ABC employee who has the grand title of "Chief Economics Correspondent" when that person appears to be an economic illiterate, with little knowledge of taxation law or of the complexities involved in running a business?
to the right-wing trolls here. give us proven evidence that lowering taxes for companies leads to more jobs (for actual workers) and growth of the economy.
The big story here is Turnbull’s fear of workers finally understanding the truth.
The truth is, Emma Alberici is spot on. The truth is, there is no evidence that tax cuts either increase wages or create jobs. If there was such evidence, Turnbull would be able to point to it, instead of censoring an opposing view
Finally understanding how they’ve been lied to for generations. Why else would Turnbull go to such extraordinary lengths to get this so called ‘opinion’ removed, if he didn’t know how damaging this truth is to his neoliberal worldview?
and this is the key sentence that turnbull had removed from the abc's article .....
“There is no compelling evidence that giving the country’s biggest companies a tax cut sees that money passed on to workers in the form of higher wages.”
If you look closely at exactly what was removed from the article before it was reposted, you can see what Turnbull was so desperate to censor. And you immediately see where this desperation comes from: a fear that his house of cards is about to come crashing down, blown up by a truth bomb. Because the line that was taken out of this article smashes not just Turnbull’s entire political ideology, his political career and his government’s hold on power; it also smashes the right wing narrative the world over.
and by the way, here's a well-proven fact ..... if you cut the taxes of consumers they spend more money on goods and services and that leads to jobs & growth much more directly.
https://theaimn.com/truth-bomb-terrifies-turnbull/
She wasn’t ‘gagged and censored’ - the ABC took down the article beacause it was simply incorrect.....and (although it’s often difficult to see) the ABC’s supposed to be in the real new business. That’s one where your chief economist reports correct information.
Australia is in competition with other countries to attract foreign investment .
Of course, the really big story is the cut to the company tax rate in the US under the Trump administration. From a headline rate of 35 per cent plus, the rate of company tax will now be 21 per cent. There also will be expensing of all capital spending in calculating tax liabilities. This latter change has huge implications because large licks of capital spending will be immediately deducted by companies in calculating taxable income rather than depreciating this spending across many years.
It is hardly surprising there has been some tweaking of other deduction arrangements in the US, including in relation to interest payments, given the short-term fiscal cost of the company rate cut and the expensing of capital spending.
Another related development is effective demise of the global base erosion and profit shifting project, the aim of which was for countries to extract more tax revenue from big, mainly US, companies such as Apple
All that excessive cash held by these companies outside the US will now be repatriated on concessional terms and there will be little for every other country to argue about.
Professor Stone
Let’s also acknowledge that companies such as Apple and Google only sell products here. They don’t develop intellectual property here; they don’t manufacture here; there are licence fees to pay; they are basically retailers.
As such, their activities are never likely to generate much local tax revenue, notwithstanding their substantial sales revenues.
Profeesor Stone
All Australian political parties sense of logic is contradictory when it comes to company taxation.
They want Apple and Google to pay more taxes in Australia. No production or R&D is done here, just revenue. Apple and Google shareholders and the US government are not impressed.
Now China, using Australian political logic, wants to "fully tax" iron ore and coal from Australia! They complain that Forescue, BHP, Rio et al. have huge revenues in China but pay little taxes.
Compare the size impact of imports into Australia from Google, Apple etc. (tiny) and exports from Australia by Forescue, BHP, Rio et al. (massive). Who has more to loose?
How are Australia shareholders and the Australian government of any persuation going to either appreciate or argue against China? Thats different people will cry, but we are not talking about mineral Royalties, but simple company taxes as defined by the World Trade Organisation rules.
Good to see you posting Peanuts ...it has been a while ????
The ABC last night admitted there were issues with accuracy and impartiality in two reports by its star economics correspondent Emma Alberici .
Something very wrong if the ABC management had to amend their star financial reporter's handiwork.
“The reports were published at 5.30am on Wednesday, 14 February. ABC news director Gaven Morris flagged his concerns with his managers at about 7am and by midday Editorial Policies had provided the advice there were issues with accuracy in the news report and impartiality in the analysis report,” the spokesman said.
“On that basis, ABC News decided to amend the news report and withdraw the analysis piece until it was clear whether it could be reworked and resubmitted.”
No wonder Bill Shorten agrees with her, his understanding of basic bookkeeping, accounts and economics is as woeful as Alberici also. He probably didn't hear what she said but agreed with her anyway!
ABC News says the Alberici analysis report "did not comply with opinion guidelines for ABC journalists."
She has been with the ABC for years, yet doesn't know or chooses to ignore these guidelines.
Are these guidelines voluntary? If not, what sanction has been imposed on Ms Alberici?
a 'TOO Busy RAPHAEL' above, - should BUSY WHO-ever It is ? & just write abt, GOVT CORRUPTION & nothing Else. - MAKE the PG really Interesting. - Like, remind Readers about the VERY CORRUPT, nsw A.L.P, - when Under NATHAN - FOOL, nathan REES & why He Had to "GET--OUT", also Ditto Kristina KENEALLY, IEMMA & DILL-BraineD, O-FARRELL. Etc.- "These" dopes R, who, we R, made to SUFFER. - HITLER -& the "KLU- KLUX -KLAN S-Men" POSERS, did, Not, - Die. All are much ALIVE, as Community TERRORISTS, over Australia. They **take TAX-Payers $$s so can RORT, them, **as False pretenses.
there is more on this scandal on the front page of 'our life choices' website .....
power prices have soared, yet most of the energy sector’s companies have avoided paying any tax for years despite making vast profits. Same goes for banks and other financial institutions.