Australia is poised to lose out under the new US Trump administration unless it adopts more business friendly policies.
The was the call from the Business Council of Australia after a team, led by chief executive Bran Black, returned from a fact-finding mission to the US.
The team sought to learn more about the incoming US administration policies and philosophies and says it has found potential risks and opportunities for Australian businesses.
Black says Australia is at risk of losing business investment, jobs and tax revenue to the US with its expected new pro-business polices likely to make Australia less competitive.
And he wants Labor and the Coalition to adopt more pro-business policies to make Australia more competitive.
“After hearing directly from senior business industry representatives in the US, it’s clear that without new pro-business policies, we are at risk of seeing investment dollars drained out of Australia,” Black says.
“We’re calling on all sides of politics to put forward new policies to improve Australia’s competitive settings, including on deregulation and faster approvals, and which address our tax settings, including with an investment allowance and an improved Research and Development Tax Incentive.”
The council says that issues highlighted to their team mentioned high compliance costs, a less welcoming place for business and businesses looking to restructure out of Australia and invest elsewhere like Singapore.
Black noted that the incoming US administration plans to fast-track approvals for investments of over $1 billion, significantly reduce regulation and lock in a federal company tax rate no higher than 21 per cent.
“The race for investment is global. The last time the US dropped its company tax rate Australia became a net exporter of capital for five years, effectively missing out on critical projects and jobs,” Black says.
The council says Australia has the third highest company tax rate in the OECD, ahead of only Portugal and Colombia.
It also found that Australia’s flagging competitiveness and productivity report found this country is becoming a harder place to invest and that productivity growth over the past decade is the lowest in 60 years.