Ministerial Statement

Taxation Reform

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS (West Torrens—Treasurer, Minister for Finance, Minister for State Development, Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Minister for Small Business) (14:04): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The government is committed to ensuring that South Australia remains a place where people and business thrive. Yesterday, in opening parliament, the Governor announced that the government will be undertaking a review of state taxes to ensure our taxation system supports this goal.

The review builds upon our commitment as part of the government's economic priorities to launch an agenda for tax reform. Nothing is out of bounds in the review, but meaningful reform will only be possible if it is a product of robust and informed discussions within the community. The Governor announced that the government would be releasing a discussion paper on options to reform our taxation system, and I am pleased to be able to release the paper today and table a copy here.

The discussion paper provides a summary of the state's current taxation system and summarises tax reform ideas that have been suggested in the past through various tax reviews. The paper includes a range of information not normally available to encourage an informed debate on tax reform and provide a useful resource for those in the community who wish to contribute to this process.

It is important to note that the discussion paper does not propose any particular reforms; it is the first key step in engaging with the community on tax reform matters. The discussion paper does, however, pose a range of questions which we will seek the community's views on during the consultation process. The discussion paper includes a range of interstate comparisons of our taxes and the broader costs of doing business in the state.

South Australia's business environment boasts the most competitive payroll tax regime in the nation as ranked by the Commonwealth Grants Commission. Other reports show that we have the lowest total taxes and charges for big business and the second lowest for small businesses establishing operations in the state.

As a state that is encouraging the development of its mineral resources, South Australia also has competitive mining royalties. We compare favourably on broader business cost comparisons. KPMG's 2014 Competitive Alternatives Report ranks South Australia as being the second most competitive business environment for the four Australian cities surveyed.

Mr Marshall interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The leader is called to order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: The government's recent reforms to the WorkCover system should further improve our business cost competitiveness. It is clear, however, that our business stamp duty rates are relatively high when compared with other jurisdictions. The Governor confirmed yesterday that the government is open to radical reform of our taxation system.

Mr Pengilly: How about the Repat?

The SPEAKER: The member for Finniss is called to order.

The Hon. A. KOUTSANTONIS: However, it is important that the community understands that this review is about competitive, sustainable and fair tax reform, not simply tax cuts.

Ms Redmond: You are joking—it's not simply tax cuts.

The SPEAKER: I call the member for Heysen to order. The opposition gave leave for the Treasurer to give that ministerial statement. Uncharacteristically, not once did he beat the opposition over the head, yet the opposition interjected on him throughout.