Bill Shorten has said a “Buffett rule” will not be official Labor policy at the next election.
It is a significant blow to the internal push from some up-and-coming Labor leftwingers, and a former treasurer, Wayne Swan, a prominent rightwinger, for Labor to adopt the controversial policy.
Debate reignited this week within Labor ranks over the need to introduce a Buffett rule in Australia which would force wealthy Australians to pay a minimum rate of tax.
In a new essay published by Australian Fabians, Labor MPs Andrew Giles and Terri Butler argued the idea of a Buffett rule had galvanised people because “it is a readily understandable symbol” of what’s wrong with Australia’s tax arrangements.
“At a time when it is possible for Australian millionaires to claim so many tax concessions – including the cost of managing tax affairs – that they pay no income tax, the Buffett rule’s appeal rests on an appreciation that today’s tax settings are boosting inequality and unfairness, and that something should be done about it,” Giles and Butler argued.
In February the left faction of the Labor party pushed for the Buffett rule to be adopted as official policy at the next ALP national conference in 2018.
But the shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, has repeatedly pushed back against the idea, saying early last month in an interview with Guardian Australia that the concept “won’t be part of the policy we take to the next election”.
When asked on Thursday if he stood by Bowen’s recent comments, Shorten said: “Yes.”
“Let’s be clear here. We think that the tax system in Australia is unfairly skewed towards the top end of town … People know there’s a two-class tax system in this country,” he said.
“[But] Labor has got serious measures to start creating a fair tax system for all, and that’s why we’re going to reform negative gearing … We want to crack down on the multinationals, and we’ll have more to say in budget reply about how we create a fairer tax system.”
When asked why Labor’s economic leadership team was unwilling to have a debate with its members about the Buffet rule, he didn’t answer the question directly.
“The Labor party I lead says that inequality in this country is at a 75-year high,” he said. “Every day we are out there talking about how we can make this country fairer.
“We’re interested in looking after middle-class and working-class families. We think if you invest in the kids, we think if you invest in infrastructure, if you have a strong safety net, that’s how you get a country going ahead.”
A Labor MP, Pat Conroy, who’s a member of the left faction, has previously said the Buffet rule should be given “very strong consideration” by Labor’s leadership.
The Greens leader, Richard Di Natale, proposed his own Buffett rule in April 2016.
