‘We are not Luddites': AFR readers react to AI productivity boost
Productivity Commission chairwoman Danielle Wood is recommending the Albanese government overhaul company tax, speed up planning approvals for infrastructure projects and embrace artificial intelligence to lift the economy out of stagnation. She said Australian full-time workers would be at least $14,000 better off by 2035 if productivity growth was boosted.
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West Australian
12 minutes ago
- West Australian
Questions raised on Australia's baseline tariff rate as Donald Trump's deadline looms
With just hours to go until new US tariffs take effect, Treasurer Jim Chalmers has taken a swipe at Donald Trump, saying slugging import penalties on countries like Australia would be 'bad for the American economy'. In a last ditch effort, Dr Chalmers said imposing higher tariffs with nations — especially trade surplus-clad countries like Australia — would be an 'act of economic self-harm' with the US economy already hit with rising inflation. 'We think these tariffs are bad for the American economy, certainly bad for the global economy,' he said. 'We're better placed and better prepared than most countries to deal with that, but we won't be immune. We'll continue to engage with the Americans on it.' Dr Chalmers said his 'working assumption' was that Australia would continue to have a 10 per cent baseline tariff after the August 1 deadline — which falls early-afternoon on Friday in Australia. That is despite the US President hinting during his recent Scotland trip, that countries yet to strike a deal would be slapped with a 15 to 20 per cent rate. 'Our understanding and our working assumption is that we get the 10 per cent,' he said during a breakfast TV blitz on Thursday. 'From our point of view, the 10 per cent is too high. 'We think it should be zero because these tariffs are an act of economic self-harm.' Dr Chalmers went on to claim that the Albanese Government was engaging with the Americans 'all the time' when asked about the yet-to-be rescheduled first face-to-face between Mr Albanese and Mr Trump. National's leader David Littleproud, however, slammed the Albanese Government for running on assumptions and failing to engage with the US President ahead of the deadline. 'I don't think we should be sitting here thinking there's a certainty that we don't be sitting at 10 per cent,' he said. Since the tariffs were first proposed in April — their implementation has been delayed several times. It has prompted the nickname 'TACO' — Trump Always Chickens Out. The US president first announced the tariff regime on 'Liberation Day' at the White House on April 2 but it was swiftly postponed for 90 days. Perth USAsia Centre chief executive Professor Gordon Flake said Donald Trump's unpredictability makes it difficult to take his statements or deadlines at face value. He also suggested the deadline may not materialise tomorrow since Trump hasn't repeated it and therefore might not follow through. 'Even for his supporters and his administration, his words don't mean anything,' he said. 'Because you set the deadline, it doesn't mean that there will be an across the board application… unless he specifically reemphasizes or restates that. We haven't seen a repetition. 'It's just ongoing capriciousness, Mad King whims, masquerading as strategy. It's the whims and the emotions of a Mad King on a daily basis.' Mr Littleproud also accused the Government of lifting the restrictions on US beef imports — potentially exposing Australia to mad cow disease and tuberculosis — as a concession made to appease Mr Trump. 'This is all because of a diplomatic failure by Prime Minister Albanese to be able to meet with President Trump,' he said. 'If you want to know about how you're going to come and deal with Trump, you actually have to sit down with him.' It comes after an independent inquiry proposed into Australia's recent decision to allow further US beef import has been denied. Put forward by Nationals Matt Canavan in the Senate on Thursday but voted down 33-27. Nationals, Liberals, Independents Fatima Payman and David Pocock, and One Nation Senators had voted for an inquiry while Labor and Greens opposed it. WA Senator and shadow assistant trade minister Dean Smith said Australia's biosecurity wasn't a bargaining chip and labelled any weakening of Australia's good track record as 'a dangerous and unnecessary risk'. 'The Prime Minister cannot get a meeting with President Trump, but has managed to give away access to our beef market without securing a trade deal for Australian producers,' he said. 'It is particularly disappointing that Labor and the Greens conspired today to block a Senate Inquiry into the biosecurity risk associated with this US beef imports decision.' The Government said the decision to lift the import ban on US beef was based on science. While Australia has allowed beef imports from the US since 2019, there has been a long-standing ban on US beef imports—specifically meat from cattle born in Canada or Mexico but slaughtered in America. Agriculture Minister Julie Collins, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Trade Minister Don Farrell had said it came after a science-based biosecurity review and strict standards remained in place. They argued the decision's timing amid tariff threats wasn't suspicious. Professor Flake said he didn't believe changes to beef imports would get Australia a better deal but perhaps shelter it from a worse one. 'We're just trying to remove an irritant before it attracts the Eye of Sauron,' he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
42 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Big cut in company tax would boost economy – but it comes with a sting
Company tax could be slashed to 20 per cent for firms with revenue below $1 billion, but businesses would be hit with a world-first 'cashflow tax' to encourage them to invest in Australia and capture a share of the enormous earnings of tech giants such as Netflix and Apple. The radical tax overhaul proposal from the Productivity Commission would hit large corporate taxpayers including BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Woolworths, but would capture companies that currently pay little or no tax including Transurban, News Corp and Amazon. The commission estimates its plan would deliver an estimated $15 billion boost to the economy, setting the stage for a battle over company tax settings at Anthony Albanese's economics roundtable. The commission's report, the first of five that will form a key part of the debate at the three-day roundtable between August 19 and 21, focuses on the tax system and ways to make the Australian economy more dynamic. Commission deputy chair Alex Robson said the tax proposals were aimed at encouraging businesses to spend more on investment that would help lift overall productivity. Loading 'In the past 10 years productivity grew by less than a quarter of its 60-year average. To turn this around, we need business to expand and invest in the tools and technology that help us get the most out of our work,' he said. 'If we don't get our economy moving again, today's children could be the first generation to not be better off than their parents. We need to spark growth through investment and competition – the best way to do that is to reform our company tax system.' Currently, businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million face a corporate tax rate of 25 per cent, with a 30 per cent rate for all other firms – one of the highest rates in the developed world.
The Age
42 minutes ago
- The Age
Big cut in company tax would boost economy – but it comes with a sting
Company tax could be slashed to 20 per cent for firms with revenue below $1 billion, but businesses would be hit with a world-first 'cashflow tax' to encourage them to invest in Australia and capture a share of the enormous earnings of tech giants such as Netflix and Apple. The radical tax overhaul proposal from the Productivity Commission would hit large corporate taxpayers including BHP, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Woolworths, but would capture companies that currently pay little or no tax including Transurban, News Corp and Amazon. The commission estimates its plan would deliver an estimated $15 billion boost to the economy, setting the stage for a battle over company tax settings at Anthony Albanese's economics roundtable. The commission's report, the first of five that will form a key part of the debate at the three-day roundtable between August 19 and 21, focuses on the tax system and ways to make the Australian economy more dynamic. Commission deputy chair Alex Robson said the tax proposals were aimed at encouraging businesses to spend more on investment that would help lift overall productivity. Loading 'In the past 10 years productivity grew by less than a quarter of its 60-year average. To turn this around, we need business to expand and invest in the tools and technology that help us get the most out of our work,' he said. 'If we don't get our economy moving again, today's children could be the first generation to not be better off than their parents. We need to spark growth through investment and competition – the best way to do that is to reform our company tax system.' Currently, businesses with a turnover of less than $50 million face a corporate tax rate of 25 per cent, with a 30 per cent rate for all other firms – one of the highest rates in the developed world.
