Interview with David Koch, Sunrise
11 October 2018
DAVID KOCH: Prime Minister, thanks for joining us. This isn’t a promise is it, you’re actually going to legislate this, maybe as soon as next week. Why?
PRIME MINISTER: I’m going to legislate it next week because small and family businesses deserve to have the support of this plan of lower taxes which helps them invest in their business, grow their business, and employ more Australians. Businesses of less than $50 million, as you know, employ more than half the Australian workforce and we want their taxes to be lower. This plan will deliver that five years ahead of the current legislated schedule. Under the Liberal and National parties, small businesses and family businesses will pay 25 per cent tax in the next term of Parliament, and under Labor you’ll pay higher taxes. You’ll pay higher taxes for everything by the way, but small and family businesses will pay higher taxes under Labor, lower taxes under the Liberal and National parties.
KOCH: This is interesting isn’t is, Labor have already said they will not go through with the tax cuts for small business when they were five years out. So are you going to get support from the crossbenchers to get this through next week? Obviously Labor will vote against it.
PRIME MINISTER: Well it will go through the House of a Representatives first, and obviously we are quite confident that we will be able to take that through the House of Representatives. You’re right, it will then go to the Senate. The Senate, last time when we took the taxes changes through, supported the plan that we put through for businesses under $50 million, so they have good form on supporting tax cuts for small and family businesses, and that’s what’s being offered here again. As you know, we were unable to get the other tax plan through the Senate. And by reversing that out, we can now bring this in. It doesn’t delay a return to surplus at all. And it means that those small and family businesses, they are having a go, they deserve to get a fair go, and I am going to give them that fair go. I’m going to put it in law next week.
KOCH: So you are using the money from not being able to pass the tax cuts to big business, that money will now bring forward the small business tax cuts? Because a lot of people will be saying where is the money coming from, how can we afford it?
PRIME MINISTER: Well that is the answer David, you had just spelled it out. Particularly over the forward estimates, that is how we are doing that. When you are going out to 2021-22, the Budget is back in surplus then and it’s in a position to support those lower taxes and it won’t affect the outcome in 2019-20.
KOCH: Ok, let’s focus on the International Monetary Fund, which has downgraded the economic growth forecast for Australia because of the potential trade war between America and China. We’ve got the Dow right now just closing twenty minutes ago, down over 800 points, 830 points. Scared because of the impact of this trade war, should be keeping our powder dry? Are you nervous about this trade war and the impact on us?
PRIME MINISTER: Well we have to act I think calmly and in a measured way. But I think it only underscores with the broader global economic uncertainty - which we have no control over - it is important that businesses continue to invest. It is important that businesses continue to have confidence. That’s why we think that lower taxes for businesses in this environment is better for the economy, because if they’ve got to pay more to the Government, if they are crippled by higher taxes and they have got to compete with what is happening globally, then that only makes it harder for them to keep people at work. So this is an investment in the strength of our economy, and in the heart of our economy, which is small and medium-sized family businesses who are the backbone of our nation when it comes to our economic success.
KOCH: Prime Minister, great news for small business owners, thanks for joining us.
PRIME MINISTER: Thanks a lot David, cheers.
