Barnaby Joyce erupts over Labor’s defence of income tax, CGT reforms

One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has erupted over Labor’s refusal to concede its reforms to the capital gains tax will place higher taxes on some Australian businesses.

The reforms will remove the existing 50 per cent CGT discount in favour of an inflation indexation model and apply to all asset classes, including investment properties, shares, and businesses.

A 30 per cent minimum tax rate will also apply.

On Monday, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek defended the Albanese government’s approach, saying misinformation had fuelled small business fears about the budget measures’ impacts.

<img src="https://cue.wanews.com.au/webservice/thumbnail/article/22330744" id="_9a406455-a017-4afb-bbab-bee5d6da816b" capiid="05240079c06e0e7de5457de742e42ba2" alt="" caption="One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce has claimed Labor is ‘unable’" to explain its CGT changes. Picture: Sunrise">

“There are a whole range of carve outs … and what we’re doing is moving from a situation where the discount on capital gains tax is a flat 50 per cent to a discount that’s based on inflation, so there’s still a discount in there,” she told Seven’s Sunrise.

Ms Plibersek said there were a “lot of positives” about the changes that were being ignored by people online whom she claimed were preoccupied with “getting some attention”.

She would not concede the changes raised taxes, nor be drawn on a specific example of a small-business owner trying to sell their business.

But Mr Joyce subsequently told the same program the Labor MP was still unable to make a key concession about the reforms. “You will pay more tax. It’s very easy, you just let it come out of your mouth, it’s called the truth,” Mr Joyce said.

Asked about whether Labor would commit to reducing income tax, Ms Plibersek pointed to the government’s forthcoming instant $1000 tax deduction and July 1 tax cuts.

“An average worker will get a $2800 tax cut because of the changes that we’re making,” she said.

“That’s one of the reasons that we’re making changes to our tax system.

“Because people on wages and salaries who pay their tax every fortnight, they’ve been getting the raw end of the stick, compared with people who are making profits on shares and other assets.

“The wage and salary earners have been paying a larger share of the tax burden than they should.”

But Mr Joyce dismissed Ms Plibersek’s response, saying the real question was around whether Australians were “going to pay more or less tax”.

“The answer is not ‘I don’t know’. The answer is yes, they will,” he said.

But when host Nat Barr pushed back at his claims about the tax cuts, he protested: “It’s just not the truth, it’s crazy.”

More to come