Andrew Leigh

CANBERRA DESERVES BETTER

Inside Canberra, 19 May 2017

Canberra got a dud deal from the Coalition’s 2017 budget. In at least five significant ways, the bush capital will be left worse off as a result of deliberate decisions by the Turnbull Government.

First, one of Canberra’s largest export earners is education, with university teaching and research vital to sustaining the ACT economy. Cutting $2.7 billion from universities in addition to the 2.5 per cent efficiency dividend and lowering the repayment threshold for HELP loans will hold back important institutions like the University of Canberra, the Australian National University, ACU (Canberra) and UNSW (Canberra).

Second, the Turnbull Government’s own budget papers show that they are ripping $22 billion from schools. ACT schools are the hardest hit in the country. Annual average growth rate in per student funding is only 1.6 per cent for the ACT over the decade, compared with 4.1 per cent growth for Australia as a whole. Tanya Plibersek, our Shadow Education Minister, has pledged that a Labor Government will reverse every single cent of the $22 billion cut. We won’t be giving a $65 billion handout to big business. Instead, we will be investing in our nation’s schools.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC AM

FRIDAY, 19 MAY 2017

SUBJECT/S: ATO tax fraud case, federal corruption commission, Labor’s tax haven transparency package, whistleblower protections, Labor’s budget reply.

SABRA LANE, PRESENTER: The Government in last week's Budget revealed that is was pushing ahead with stronger anti-tax avoidance measures to try and ensure multinational companies pay their fair share of tax here. It's banking on the Australian Tax Office collecting more than $4 billion extra as a result during the next financial year. Labor this morning is proposing other measures like forcing companies to declare where they pay tax, and greater incentives for whistleblowers.

Joining me now to discuss it is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer, Andrew Leigh, from our Sydney studio. Mr Leigh, good morning.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning Sabra, great to be with you.

LANE: We'll discuss your ideas in a moment. First, there's a lot of attention on the ATO right now given the arrests over an alleged $165 million fraud case. There are some concerns that this might actually jeopardise another investigation into the Panama Papers. Do you share those concerns?

LEIGH: That's certainly my first concern. It is obviously good that the Tax Office's systems flagged this issue up, but it is an incredibly serious challenge. Obviously I don't want to go to any of the specifics of the individual who has now been charged, but Labor is concerned that those ongoing multinational tax investigations continue to take place. We do believe that this reinforces the need for the Senate investigation into a national integrity commission which we have been calling for quite some time now.

A Few Big Firms*

Andrew Leigh and Adam Triggs

The Monthly, 17 May 2017

A few years ago, a pair of young economists noticed something odd in the Australian petrol market. Melbourne University’s David Byrne and Sydney University’s Nicolas de Roos saw that petrol retailers were suddenly coordinating their prices much more precisely than ever before. Relative to the price of crude oil, motorists were paying more at the bowser.

CHRIS BOWEN MP

SHADOW TREASURER

MEMBER FOR MCMAHON

ANDREW LEIGH MP

SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER

SHADOW MINISTER FOR COMPETITION AND PRODUCTIVITY

SHADOW MINISTER FOR CHARITIES AND NOT-FOR-PROFITS

SHADOW MINISTER FOR TRADE IN SERVICES

MEMBER FOR FENNER

A FAIRER TAX SYSTEM FOR MILLIONS, NOT MILLIONAIRES

A Shorten Labor Government will make Australia’s tax system fairer by clamping down on the loopholes used by millionaires that force the rest of Australia pay more.

We will cap the tax deductible expenses paid to lawyers and accountants that wealthy individuals use to reduce taxable incomes to zero.

Labor will also take steps to keep more of the money owed to Australia in Australia by cracking down on the use of tax havens and tax avoidance.

Malcolm Turnbull has a simple choice: he can stand up and fight for Australian workers and businesses who paytheir fair share, or defend tax havens and million-dollar deductions.

Managing Tax Affairs

In 2014-15, 48 individuals earned more than $1 million but paid zero tax. Nineteen of these people claimed an average of $1.1 million in deductions for the use of the lawyers and tax advisors that helped them pay no tax.

This is a rort. Allowing high-income individuals to reduce their taxable income to zero and then charging the taxpayer for the privilege is the sort of unfairness Australians are sick of.

Should an individual choose to pay an accountant more than $3000 to manage their tax affairs, that extra expense will be borne solely by them, not subsidised by other taxpayers.

Less than one per cent of all taxpayers will be affected by this measure.

Tax Haven Transparency

Tax havens hold an estimated $7.5 trillion of the world’s financial wealth, costing the global economy $200 billion in lost taxes every year. As Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan recently noted: ‘Many of these matters involve deliberate tax evasion, often using overseas tax havens or complex corporate structures to avoid detection and recovery.’

Malcolm Turnbull’s Government shirks every opportunity to clamp down on tax havens.

Unlike Malcolm Turnbull, Labor is not content to let wealthy individuals and corporations use tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, Panama, and the British Virgin Islands to rip of their fellow Australians who do the right thing.

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TV INTERVIEW

ABC LATELINE

FRIDAY, 12 MAY 2017

SUBJECT/S: Labor’s Budget reply, 2017 Federal Budget for millionaires and multinationals, Superannuation raid for housing deposit, Medicare levy, Drug testing for welfare recipients

DAVID LIPSON, PRESENTER: Angus Taylor, Andrew Leigh, welcome to Lateline. Andrew Leigh, I want to start with you. Something you had to say on morning radio with Dan Bourchier of ABC Canberra about the government's housing affordability plan. You said it was a raid on superannuation of young people. Can you explain that?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: David, our superannuation system ought to have one purpose, which is to ensure the security of people's retirement. It shouldn't be raided in order to support the buying of first home buyers.

LIPSON: How is it a raid if it’s money that’s going in over and above compulsory super contributions?

LEIGH: There ought to be one purpose for superannuation, David. This is raiding people's superannuation accounts in a manner that Malcolm Turnbull last year said was "a thoroughly bad idea".

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TV INTERVIEW

SKY AM AGENDA

FRIDAY, 12 MAY 2017

SUBJECT/S: Labor’s Budget reply, 2017 Federal Budget for millionaires and multinationals, Medicare levy

KIERAN GILBERT, PRESENTER: Joining me on the program now is the program now is the Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh. Andrew Leigh, thanks for your time. First of all on the deficit levy, let's start with that, has Labor given up on aspirational voters with that move?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Kieran, this is a levy which is basically paid for by the top 1 per cent. Ninety-four per cent of the revenue comes from the top 1 per cent of Australians, a group that has doubled their share of national income over the last generation. We believe that they ought not to be the only people in Australia who are getting a tax cut. Let's take an example of a bank CEO. A bank CEO would get a $170,000 tax cut as a result of Malcolm Turnbull's decisions. Meanwhile, someone working on the Sunday the 2nd of July, the day after the bank CEO begins to get their tax cut, they get $77 less from the cut to penalty rates...

GILBERT: The numbers have been repeatedly raised by both sides over the years, but Deloitte Access Economics analysis shows that the top few per cent, the top 3 per cent, contribute well over 20 per cent of the tax revenue. It's a huge contribution they make already that they make.

LEIGH: And they have well over their proportionate share of income, Kieran. It's exactly what you would expect even if we only had flat tax rates. But we have progressive tax rates for a reason which is that if you are on a multi-million dollar salary you can afford to pay a bit more.

GILBERT: But what about a person on $180,000 living in Sydney?

LEIGH: They don't benefit from Malcolm Turnbull's tax cut. It's people earning over $180,000.

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TV INTERVIEW

ABC NEWS BREAKFAST

FRIDAY, 12 MAY 2017

SUBJECT/S: Labor’s Budget reply, 2017 Federal Budget for millionaires and multinationals, Medicare levy

MICHAEL ROWLAND, PRESENTER: Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh joins us from Parliament House in Canberra now. Andrew Leigh, good morning to you.

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: Good morning, Michael.

ROWLAND: Why have you decided to support that rise in the Medicare levy to fund the NDIS in part and only make higher income earners pay it?

LEIGH: Michael, our approach is always to be as constructive as possible, and in this instance we have decided that four out of five taxpayers shouldn't be paying the increased Medicare levy. The NDIS was fully funded. Let's not let that lie slide. When Labor put it in place, we put it in place along with a series of savings and a very clear plan to pay for it. The Government's proposal is to jack up taxes on all working Australians. Labor would shield four out of five workers from that increase in the Medicare levy.

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TV INTERVIEW

CNBC SQUAWK BOX

WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY 2017

SUBJECT/S: 2017 Federal Budget.

MATT TAYLOR: Andrew Leigh, thank you very much for chatting with us. What did you make of the budget that was revealed last night? By some it has been called a Labor lite budget, is that how you see the budget?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: I think if you're assessing any budget you need to do it based on the challenges that Australia faces. We've got rising inequality, declining home ownership and sluggish productivity. My worry is that the budget has a huge tax hand out for millionaires, some $16,400. But the budget doesn't do anything to improve housing affordability by tackling negative gearing and capital gains tax discount which have acted together to blow up the housing market and drive home ownership to it's lowest level in 60 years. We don't have the infrastructure spend on things like the National Broadband Network or the education spend that we need in order to build prosperity for the future. 

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RADIO INTERVIEW

ABC NEWSRADIO

WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY 2017

SUBJECT/S: Turnbull’s budget for millionaires and multinationals, housing affordability, bank levy, Medicare levy, low wage growth under Malcolm Turnbull

[AUDIO CUTS IN]

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: This is a Budget that delivers very little to economic growth, but a huge amount to the pockets of these shareholders of some of  the world's biggest firms. It's a Budget which is taking money out of Australian schools, which is taking money out of our universities, at a time when we know, Glen, if we want to be a prosperous, equitable, productive nation, we have to be investing first and foremost in education. Yet our schools, are saying they are going to have to raise fees. Universities may have to going to have to lay off researchers as a result of these cuts to those institutions.

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RADIO INTERVIEW

FIVEAA MORNINGS

WEDNESDAY, 10 MAY 2017

SUBJECT/S: 2017 Federal Budget.

LEON BYNER: The Shadow Assistant Treasurer is Dr Andrew Leigh. Andrew first of all, I'll pick out a couple of things. What do you think of the $6.2 billion taken off banks to fund the NDIS?

ANDREW LEIGH, SHADOW ASSISTANT TREASURER: G'day Leon and good morning to you and your listeners. The banking levy is an extraordinary exercise in chutzpah. I’m old enough to remember just a few years back when Chris Bowen put a banking levy on which was just a tenth of the size of this one. And with the revenue hypothecated towards a special financial stability fund rather than just put into general revenue. This is a very significant levy for the banks and for the Government – as on a bunch of other things – has done a complete backflip.