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Australian businesses to suffer as Liberal Party refuses to back 30c company tax reduction

TheAustralian.com.au


THE Coalition will not match Labor's pledge to cut the company tax rate from 30 per cent to 28 per cent.

Releasing its detailed budget savings document today, the Opposition also confirmed it would dump the Rudd government's pledge to lift the superannuation guarantee for employees from 9 per cent to 12 per cent, saving employers millions of dollars.

The decision not to lower the company tax rate would deliver $2.3 billion in savings to a Coalition government if elected.

The Coalition would also discontinue the Digital Education Revolution computers-in-schools program, saving $700 million annually.

And it would abolish the e-Health reforms designed to slash drug errors by providing an electronic patient record saving $467 million.

It would also save $18 billion by scrapping the National Broadband Network.

"This massive savings plan is just the beginning," said the Coalition statement accompanying its costings document, released to the media after Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey addressed the National Press Club in Canberra.

"Further savings will be announced ahead of the election to demonstrate how Australia's financial accounts will be returned to the black without resorting to major new taxes which strangle growth," Opposition finance spokesman Andrew Robb said.

Mr Robb said the savings were made up of $24.7 billion of off-recurrent spending to fund an attack on the deficit and some offset in spending initiatives and $22 billion in one-off capital savings which would "draw down the Rudd government's massive debt".

Mr Hockey earlier earned the ire of media at the Press Club by announcing the Opposition would slash spending by $46.7 billion to get the budget back to surplus - but failing during his address to detail what programs he would cut.

He said Mr Robb would release the detailed document later - which the finance spokesman did as soon as the event finished.

"Returning the budget to surplus will require tough decisions," Mr Hockey said.

He also revealed Tony Abbott's team would unveil some "modest" proposals to keep older Australians in work closer to the election.

For small business, he confirmed an independent review of the Trade Practices Act to ensure traders were getting a fair go.

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