Australian Greens Party Policies for 2019 Federal Election

Tax policies

The Australian Greens Party has published their tax policy platform on their website and in various media releases.

The Greens’ economic plan is centred on the proposition that a strong economy is a sustainable economy, built on a healthy environment. It is also based on the philosophies that our nation’s wealth is determined by the shape, not just the size, of our economy, and that the needs of the people should drive the economy, not the economy prevailing over the needs of the people.

Measures impacting individuals (directly or via partnerships and trusts)

• Introduce a Buffet Rule that caps deductions so that individuals earning above $300,000 per year cannot deduct to a level below 35 cents in every extra tax dollar.
• Oppose further tax cuts to the wealthiest Australians. 
• Remove $6.5 billion in public subsidies that go to private health companies for people who can afford private health insurance(reinvest this $6.5 billion back into the public health system to pay for health services, including expanding Denticare.

Measures impacting business

• Introduce a 40% super-profits tax for large oil, gas and mining companies (a Henry Tax Review recommendation).
• Fee-free University and TAFE 5-point plan to be funded by gas royalties and removal of fossil fuel subsidies:
  • Set royalties for gas extraction payable by offshore gas companies at a flat 10% royalty rate, raising $1.4 billion per year.
  • Remove the tax-free fuel rebate (fossil fuel subsidies), Australia’s 17th largest tax expenditure item.
• Wind back $200 billion in tax credits for big mining and extraction companies, almost 16% of GDP.
• Reduce the threshold for public reporting to $50 million to provide greater transparency over the tax affairs of the biggest companies in the country.
• Reverse any company tax cuts for businesses earning more than $10 million per annum by restoring the tax rate to 30% (Small businesses to keep their current tax rate).
• Re-introduce an economy-wide carbon price on direct emissions from facilities which emit more than 25,000 t of CO2-e per year to reduce emissions to drive a transition in renewables, and reduce household costs.
• Eliminate billions of dollars in payments/subsidies to weapons exporters and those who make money from arms (almost $4 billion has been committed to assist arms exporters to Saudi Arabia).
• Introduce a 110% wages tax credit for businesses with a turnover of up to $2 million so they can claim 110% of their wages bill against their income.
• Double the GST registration threshold from $75,000 to $150,000 for small businesses, and $150,000 to $300,000 for not-for-profits. These thresholds will be indexed to inflation.
• Remove employers from the superannuation collection process. The Australians Greens believe small business workers’ superannuation should be included with tax payments made by employers to the ATO and the ATO would then make payments to the superannuation funds based on advice from workers that is included in their annual tax returns.

Measures impacting ATO administration

• Resource the ATO to recreate the 4,400 tax office positions that have been removed since 2012 and require accurate and timely reporting on tax avoidance, including a settlements register to detail any arrangement reached with the ATO. 

Other tax-related measures

• Setting a target of 100% of new passenger vehicles being electric by 2030, removing import tariffs and other taxes such as GST, stamp duty and registration, strong vehicle emissions standards, and rolling out fast charging infrastructure.

Political donation reform, including:

• banning political donations from mining, property development, tobacco, alcohol, gambling, banking, defence and pharmaceutical industries, and putting a cap on all other donations of $1,000 a year;
• until those bans and caps are in place, making sure every donation over $1,000 is listed publicly and disclosed in close to real-time;
• banning donations splitting and all donations from foreign entities;
• stopping all MPs from accepting lobbying jobs for five years after they retire, where a conflict of interest may arise;
• requiring politicians to tell the public when and why they meet with lobbyists;
• establishing a strong, independent federal anti-corruption commission to investigate politicians and governments.