Labor ‘won’t touch’ diesel rebate
MINING industry figures have been told that a federal Labor government would not tinker with a longstanding diesel fuel tax break.
The rebate allows miners and farmers to claim subsidies for the off-road use of diesel.
Shadow treasurer Chris Bowen has guaranteed Labor won’t touch the measure if leader Bill Shorten wins the next election, while addressing the Mineral Council of Australia’s tax conference.
“Every so often, in our regular meetings, a resources company will ask me about our plans for the diesel fuel rebate,” Mr Bowen said in Perth yesterday.
“My answer is pretty straightforward: no change. We won’t be making any changes to the diesel fuel rebate if we win office.”
Mr Bowen said Labor could make the commitment as it had done the hard yards to propose a series of other tax reforms, such as changes to negative gearing.
“Because we’ve been upfront about the plans we are seeking a mandate to introduce to fund our important initiatives, we won’t need to engage in this sort of kneejerk ambush of business.”
He has also sought to convince miners that Labor had a better plan than the Coalition to lift investment and labour productivity nationally.
Such plans include Labor’s proposed Australian Investment Guarantee, which would give every business the ability to immediately deduct 20 per cent of any new eligible asset worth more than $20,000.