❓ Minister Kierath refutes accusations of being soft on tax avoidance, highlighting government actions and criticizing the opposition's lack of policy and past performance. He defends the government's revenue collection and spending priorities.
AnsweredQoN 188Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
In a radio interview last month, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition accused the Government of being soft on tax avoidance. Does the minister have any evidence to prove that this accusation is totally ill informed and inaccurate? Mr KIERATH
AnswerView source ↗
It is obviously part of opposition tactics to try to paint a picture that the Government is under-funding or going soft in the area of tax avoidance. I am hoping the Opposition’s shallow, dumb-down slogan will get the fate it deserves. First, by coming up with these shallow slogans, those opposite avoid the responsibility of arguing the merits of the case; secondly - which is more worrying - they do not produce any policies to back up their arguments. This goes to show that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition knows nothing about these matters, yet despite that ignorance, he pushes his point of view by spreading misinformation on the airwaves. I report three points to the House that will prove the Deputy Leader of the Opposition completely wrong. First, the response by the infamous Government of which he was a member was to abscond completely and hand most of its powers over to the Commonwealth. Secondly, the State Revenue Department informed me that ministers have acted every time they have received advice about impending or current tax avoidance mechanisms. The department also added that this was the case regardless of the Government’s political persuasion. This Government has acted upon any tax avoidance issue that has been brought to its attention, and when tax avoidance issues were brought to the attention of a Labor Government, they were also acted upon. Thirdly, I remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of some of the issues that we inserted into the Act to address tax avoidance. During our time in government we have brought in provisions to address share buy-backs, capital reductions, property encumbrances and corporate reconstructions. All these measures show that the claims by the Opposition are lacking in honesty. The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
Mr KIERATH replied: It is obviously part of opposition tactics to try to paint a picture that the Government is under-funding or going soft in the area of tax avoidance. I am hoping the Opposition’s shallow, dumb-down slogan will get the fate it deserves. First, by coming up with these shallow slogans, those opposite avoid the responsibility of arguing the merits of the case; secondly - which is more worrying - they do not produce any policies to back up their arguments. This goes to show that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition knows nothing about these matters, yet despite that ignorance, he pushes his point of view by spreading misinformation on the airwaves. I report three points to the House that will prove the Deputy Leader of the Opposition completely wrong. First, the response by the infamous Government of which he was a member was to abscond completely and hand most of its powers over to the Commonwealth. Secondly, the State Revenue Department informed me that ministers have acted every time they have received advice about impending or current tax avoidance mechanisms. The department also added that this was the case regardless of the Government’s political persuasion. This Government has acted upon any tax avoidance issue that has been brought to its attention, and when tax avoidance issues were brought to the attention of a Labor Government, they were also acted upon. Thirdly, I remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of some of the issues that we inserted into the Act to address tax avoidance. During our time in government we have brought in provisions to address share buy-backs, capital reductions, property encumbrances and corporate reconstructions. All these measures show that the claims by the Opposition are lacking in honesty. The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
It is obviously part of opposition tactics to try to paint a picture that the Government is under-funding or going soft in the area of tax avoidance. I am hoping the Opposition’s shallow, dumb-down slogan will get the fate it deserves. First, by coming up with these shallow slogans, those opposite avoid the responsibility of arguing the merits of the case; secondly - which is more worrying - they do not produce any policies to back up their arguments. This goes to show that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition knows nothing about these matters, yet despite that ignorance, he pushes his point of view by spreading misinformation on the airwaves. I report three points to the House that will prove the Deputy Leader of the Opposition completely wrong. First, the response by the infamous Government of which he was a member was to abscond completely and hand most of its powers over to the Commonwealth. Secondly, the State Revenue Department informed me that ministers have acted every time they have received advice about impending or current tax avoidance mechanisms. The department also added that this was the case regardless of the Government’s political persuasion. This Government has acted upon any tax avoidance issue that has been brought to its attention, and when tax avoidance issues were brought to the attention of a Labor Government, they were also acted upon. Thirdly, I remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of some of the issues that we inserted into the Act to address tax avoidance. During our time in government we have brought in provisions to address share buy-backs, capital reductions, property encumbrances and corporate reconstructions. All these measures show that the claims by the Opposition are lacking in honesty. The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
I report three points to the House that will prove the Deputy Leader of the Opposition completely wrong. First, the response by the infamous Government of which he was a member was to abscond completely and hand most of its powers over to the Commonwealth. Secondly, the State Revenue Department informed me that ministers have acted every time they have received advice about impending or current tax avoidance mechanisms. The department also added that this was the case regardless of the Government’s political persuasion. This Government has acted upon any tax avoidance issue that has been brought to its attention, and when tax avoidance issues were brought to the attention of a Labor Government, they were also acted upon. Thirdly, I remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of some of the issues that we inserted into the Act to address tax avoidance. During our time in government we have brought in provisions to address share buy-backs, capital reductions, property encumbrances and corporate reconstructions. All these measures show that the claims by the Opposition are lacking in honesty. The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
Mr KIERATH replied: It is obviously part of opposition tactics to try to paint a picture that the Government is under-funding or going soft in the area of tax avoidance. I am hoping the Opposition’s shallow, dumb-down slogan will get the fate it deserves. First, by coming up with these shallow slogans, those opposite avoid the responsibility of arguing the merits of the case; secondly - which is more worrying - they do not produce any policies to back up their arguments. This goes to show that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition knows nothing about these matters, yet despite that ignorance, he pushes his point of view by spreading misinformation on the airwaves. I report three points to the House that will prove the Deputy Leader of the Opposition completely wrong. First, the response by the infamous Government of which he was a member was to abscond completely and hand most of its powers over to the Commonwealth. Secondly, the State Revenue Department informed me that ministers have acted every time they have received advice about impending or current tax avoidance mechanisms. The department also added that this was the case regardless of the Government’s political persuasion. This Government has acted upon any tax avoidance issue that has been brought to its attention, and when tax avoidance issues were brought to the attention of a Labor Government, they were also acted upon. Thirdly, I remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of some of the issues that we inserted into the Act to address tax avoidance. During our time in government we have brought in provisions to address share buy-backs, capital reductions, property encumbrances and corporate reconstructions. All these measures show that the claims by the Opposition are lacking in honesty. The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
It is obviously part of opposition tactics to try to paint a picture that the Government is under-funding or going soft in the area of tax avoidance. I am hoping the Opposition’s shallow, dumb-down slogan will get the fate it deserves. First, by coming up with these shallow slogans, those opposite avoid the responsibility of arguing the merits of the case; secondly - which is more worrying - they do not produce any policies to back up their arguments. This goes to show that the Deputy Leader of the Opposition knows nothing about these matters, yet despite that ignorance, he pushes his point of view by spreading misinformation on the airwaves. I report three points to the House that will prove the Deputy Leader of the Opposition completely wrong. First, the response by the infamous Government of which he was a member was to abscond completely and hand most of its powers over to the Commonwealth. Secondly, the State Revenue Department informed me that ministers have acted every time they have received advice about impending or current tax avoidance mechanisms. The department also added that this was the case regardless of the Government’s political persuasion. This Government has acted upon any tax avoidance issue that has been brought to its attention, and when tax avoidance issues were brought to the attention of a Labor Government, they were also acted upon. Thirdly, I remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of some of the issues that we inserted into the Act to address tax avoidance. During our time in government we have brought in provisions to address share buy-backs, capital reductions, property encumbrances and corporate reconstructions. All these measures show that the claims by the Opposition are lacking in honesty. The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
I report three points to the House that will prove the Deputy Leader of the Opposition completely wrong. First, the response by the infamous Government of which he was a member was to abscond completely and hand most of its powers over to the Commonwealth. Secondly, the State Revenue Department informed me that ministers have acted every time they have received advice about impending or current tax avoidance mechanisms. The department also added that this was the case regardless of the Government’s political persuasion. This Government has acted upon any tax avoidance issue that has been brought to its attention, and when tax avoidance issues were brought to the attention of a Labor Government, they were also acted upon. Thirdly, I remind the Deputy Leader of the Opposition of some of the issues that we inserted into the Act to address tax avoidance. During our time in government we have brought in provisions to address share buy-backs, capital reductions, property encumbrances and corporate reconstructions. All these measures show that the claims by the Opposition are lacking in honesty. The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
The great irony in all of this is that Western Australia has one of the toughest stamp duty regimes in Australia. In fact, business has criticised this Government for having tough stamp duty laws. The difference is that when we are in government, we do not do things for our friends, like the Opposition does. Those opposite brought in legislation to protect their mates. That is the difference - we govern for all the people and those opposite govern for their mates. I remind the House that the proceeds of the tax collected goes to two main areas. First, it provides services such as health, education and police; and, secondly, it goes towards the debt that those opposite left when they were in government. We have to provide services for people and we have to pay back that debt. Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
Mr Ripper: Isn’t debt increasing at the moment? Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
Mr KIERATH: The Deputy Leader of the Opposition will cop a question on this shortly. We have to also pay back the debt that those opposite left. We have to maintain all the services and rectify the mess that they left behind. By any measure, this Government is doing a pretty good job. The Deputy Leader of the Opposition keeps talking about finance. I encourage him to keep talking about finance because every time he opens his mouth he reminds the people of Western Australia of how disastrous the Opposition was when it occupied the Treasury benches.
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