What's in store for Labor

In this week's Accountants Daily podcast Scott Treatt and Robyn Jacobson of the Tax Institute outline some of the challenges facing the new government. Although there are doubts over the final make-up of the 76-member Senate it is already clear the government will need support from the Greens or independents, Scott Treatt, who is head of tax policy and advocacy at TI. The Greens supported Labor's policy for a tax crackdown on multinationals but went further with a proposal for a 40 per cent levy on super profits of large corporations and a "tycoon tax" on billionaires. "The policies of the Greens, the policies of some of these other minor parties remain relevant in the discussions in the backroom. They're the discussions which help secure a passage of different bills," Mr Treatt says. Another potential headache looms in the shape of fuel excise, says Tax Institute senior advocate Robyn Jacobson, and this arises just before Labor's October budget. "After the 28 September, the temporary reduction in the fuel excise is going to jump up by 22.1c," she says. "This is going to be a very visible form of price increase as we all drive around the suburbs." And both Mr Treatt and Ms Jacobson echoed calls from across the tax profession for clarity on a range of unresolved issues since the March budget, from the tax incentive for training and digital spending, to patent box changes, to fixing the non-arm's length income rules for super.