Liberals mull Greens alliance to kill off tax changes
While the coalition has signaled it can bridge the political divide and work with the Greens to stop controversial tax changes being passed by parliament, the prime minister is trying to rally the smaller party to his side.
Tax changes that will limit the negative impact on new homes from July 2027 and remove the 50 per cent reduction in capital gains tax for a rate linked to inflation were passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday.
The bill will be voted on in the Senate in late June following a swift inquiry examining the tax overhaul.
Passage of the laws remains uncertain, with the government needing support from the Greens to implement the changes.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor said the coalition, which currently opposes the tax changes, was willing to work with the Greens to reject the measures.
“We will work with everyone… we will work with everyone we can to stop toxic taxes,” he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“The Greens have an opportunity here to stop this legislation and we will work with everyone we can to stop this poisonous legislation from passing through parliament.”
Greens senator David Shoebridge expressed reservations about discretionary powers in the laws that could allow ministers to change some provisions after the legislation has been passed.
“Traditionally these were called Henry VIII’s powers and that didn’t go over well with parliament at the time,” he told Sky News.
“It’s a real problem for us that the government has put a hidden backdoor into its legislation to undermine very small changes to the tax wealth, and that’s a major problem for us.”
Finance Minister Jim Chalmers said the Greens’ concerns had not increased and Labor was still consulting with the party on the tax changes.
“This is standard practice for tax legislation. We’ve seen this in governments of both political persuasions,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“(The Greens) plan to raise (the issues) in a senate committee in the next few weeks, which is appropriate. But this is standard practice in terms of tax legislation.”
Treasury Secretary Jenny Wilkinson appeared before the Senate budget inquiry and said parliament could stop future changes to the law.
“These are unauthorized vehicles and should be consulted,” he told the inquiry.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told the inquiry the laws had not been changed to take into account major exemptions in the future.
Independent senator David Pocock called on the government to split the bill so tax cuts can be passed quickly.
The controversial tax changes are also coupled with legislation that would see a $250-a-year tax offset for working Australians, as well as an immediate $1,000 deduction when people file their annual returns.
Senator Pocock said there needed to be more scrutiny on negative gearing and capital gains changes.
“The case hasn’t been filed, the details haven’t been worked out, and it’s not good enough for a government to basically say let’s get this through parliament and the treasurer will just make rules and sort things out,” he said.
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