ATO report gives weight to Labor’s trust crackdown

Friday 18 January 2019

In 2017, Labor leader Bill Shorten outlined a plan to tax trusts at 30% that would raise $17.2 billion over 10 years. Shorten said the extra revenue could be used to fund services such as education and health, while he stressed that the 30% tax plan would not be applied to farms or charity trusts. Shorten also said that his trust tax proposal would have no impact on 98% of wage earners and fits within Labor’s inequality agenda.

Today, a report commissioned by the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has shown that wealthy people are funnelling billions of dollars per year into private trusts and avoiding paying tax. From The ABC:

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About the author

Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.