ECONOMY JUST AHEAD; TAX DEBT WARNING
Economy grows but pressure on export prices, households
Australia’s economy continues to grow, despite rising interest rates and cost of living pressures. Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for the June quarter show that Australia’s gross domestic product grew 0.4 per cent, seasonally-adjusted, or 3.4 per cent for the full 12 months of 2022-23. Increased export sales and public and private investment contributed to the quarterly growth, but household consumption was sluggish, with a fall in discretionary spending by households. Australia’s terms of trade (the link between export prices and import prices) fell by 7.9 per cent in the June quarter – the largest quarterly fall since 2009 – with export prices falling by 8.2 per cent. Meanwhile, a fall in the household savings ratio signals stronger pressures on consumer spending, while ABS figures for July underline an ongoing decline in the monthly trade surplus to $8 billion – down from $17.7 billion surplus posted in June 2022.
Tax debt not a free loan, says ATO head
Commissioner of Taxation Chris Jordan has taken aim at profitable businesses who are choosing not to pay their bills, especially in the areas of taxation and superannuation. In a speech to the tax profession, Mr Jordan said it was unacceptable that some businesses were “rolling the dice” and treating Australian Taxation Office liabilities like a free loan. Mr Jordan said small businesses continued to be over-represented in the ATO debt book, owing more than $33 billion of the $50.2 billion of collectable debt, of which $23 billion was unpaid business activity statement debt. Collectable debt also included unpaid pay-as-you-go withholding and superannuation guarantee charge debt, he said.
PM steps up SE Asian investment support
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has flagged a major lift in economic engagement with the nations of South-East Asia, committing more than $95 million to seek new investment and promote training opportunities in the region. Visiting Indonesia, the PM released Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which identified growth opportunities in agriculture and food, energy security and clean energy transition, infrastructure, and education and skills. The Federal Government will establish new deal teams in the region to target and support new investment, develop a business exchange program for two-way trade, and establish an exchange program for young professionals. Mr Albanese said Australia’s economic engagement with the region had not kept pace with the growth of South-East Asian economies.
Critical infrastructure assets upgraded for cyber security
A further 87 critical infrastructure assets have been declared to be Systems of National Significance (SNS), as the Federal Government escalates its cyber security strategy. Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said Australia now had 168 SNS across the energy, communications, transport, financial services and markets, and data storage and processing sectors. She said the systems of national significance were Australia’s most vital critical infrastructure assets; being declared meant that the Federal Government could apply a robust set of enhanced cyber security obligations on the owners or operators. These obligations included developing response plans to prepare for a cyber security incident; undertaking cyber security exercises to build cyber preparedness; undertaking assessments to identify and fix vulnerabilities; and providing system information to the Australian Signals Directorate to develop and maintain a near-real time threat picture.
El Niño blowing an ill wind for national grain crop
Graingrowers may already be feeling the heat of the onset of El Niño weather conditions, with Australian winter crop production tipped to fall by 34 per cent in 2023-24. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) has forecast that persistent dry conditions in northern cropping regions would lead to a reduced crop of 45.2 million tonnes, below the 10-year average of 46.4 million tonnes. Wheat, barley and canola production were predicted to fall by 26-38 per cent. Reduced yields in Western Australia and New South Wales were expected to be partially offset by improved yield potential in southern cropping regions, ABARES said.
Statutory declarations sign up for digital age
Statutory declarations in Australia are moving into the digital age, with the Federal Government introducing legislation to allow electronic signatures and video-witnessing. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said Australians spent an estimated nine million hours each year executing and processing more than 3.8 million statutory declarations, witnessed in person and signed in ink. The legislation would make permanent the temporary measures introduced during Covid-19 that allowed statutory declarations to be made via electronic signatures and video-link witnessing. Mr Dreyfus said Australians could still use paper-based statutory declarations if they wished.