Abbott uses Davos speech to outline Australia’s G20 aims

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Abbott uses Davos speech to outline Australia’s G20 aims

tonyabbott1.jpg

Tony Abbott, Prime Minister of Australia, gave an address today at the 44th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, setting out Australia’s priorities for its G20 presidency.

After highlighting a specific focus on measures to boost global trade, Abbott moved onto taxation. He said the November G20 summit in Brisbane will be used to work on finding a consensus among members for the principles of taxation.

“Taxes need to be fair as well as low to preserve the legitimacy of free markets,” said Abbott.

He has said that being serious on job creation means “we have to boost the private sector”.

“That means getting taxes down, that means getting regulation down in our national economies and internationally it means freeing up trade, it means trying to have less leaky national tax systems...” he added.

However, despite this low-tax rhetoric, Wayne Swan, Treasurer and Deputy Prime Minister in the previous Labor government, told International Tax Review in an exclusive interview in 2012 that Abbott’s Liberal party was to blame for blocking a corporate tax cut that had been lobbied for by various business groups.

Swan said he supported a tax cut “if the business community can agree on a way to fund it from the business tax system”.

“Just to put this into context, we did propose a tax cut but incredibly it was blocked by the Liberal Party,” said Swan.

Abbott has also been vocal in stressing that international gatherings such as the WEF must be about implementing practical action, and not merely “talkfests”. If he sticks to that mantra, a corporate tax cut, among other measures, is surely on the cards for Australia in 2014.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

It should be easy for advisers to be transparent about costs, Brown Rudnick partner Matthew Sharp said in response to exclusive ITR in-house data
The sprawling legislation phases out Joe Biden-era green tax incentives for businesses; in other news, the UK will reportedly maintain its DST despite US pressure
New French legislation should create a more consistent legal environment for taxing gains from management packages, say Bruno Knadjian and Sylvain Piémont of Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer
The South Africa vs SC ruling may embolden the tax authority to take a more aggressive approach to TP assessments, an adviser tells ITR
Indirect tax professionals now rate compliance as a bigger obstacle than technology and automation; in other news, Italy approved a VAT cut on art sales
AI-powered tax agents are likely to be the next big development in tax technology, says Russell Gammon of Tax Systems
FTI Consulting’s EMEA head of employment tax and reward tells ITR about celebrating diversity in the profession, his love of musicals, and what makes tax cool
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump have agreed that the countries will look to conclude a deal by July 21, 2025
The firm’s lack of transparency regarding its tax leaks scandal should see the ban extended beyond June 30, senators Deborah O’Neill and Barbara Pocock tell ITR
Despite posing significant administrative hurdles, digital services taxes remain ‘the best way forward’ for emerging economies, says Neil Kelley, COO of Ascoria
Gift this article