edited
8th Jan 2016
Tax Laws Amendment (Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill 2015 - in Committee - General purpose financial report
Passed by a small majority
No rebellions 80% attendance
3rd Dec 2015, 7:07 PM – Senate Tax Laws Amendment (Combating Multinational Tax Avoidance) Bill 2015 - in Committee - Tax information of companies earning over $100m
Summary
EditThe majority voted against a very controversial amendment introduced by NSW Labor Senator Sam Dastyari.
What was the amendment?
The amendment insisted that Australian companies with a total annual income of $100 million or more should have to report certain tax information so it becomes public. That information includes the company's ABN, its total annual income, its taxable income and its tax payable.
The Coalition Governmnet opposed this amendment and said the threshold should be $200 million.
Why was it so controversial?
Even though the Greens Party earlier agreed with the Labor Party that the threshold should be $100 million, they made an agreement to vote with the Coalition Government and reject this amendment. They did this because they thought it was better than nothing. Read ABC News for more information.
The Labor Party were not pleased.
Some choice insults from Labor to the Greens
"Sell-out rats!" said Senator Stephen Conroy.
"Sell-out Greens." agreed Senator Sue Lines.
"Spineless!" continued Senator Conroy.
"Sell-outs!" repeated Senator Lines.
"Absolute bunch of amateurs." contributed Senator Doug Cameron.
Through it all, Greens Senator Richard Di Natale kept trying to explain why the Greens were voting against the amendment (and therefore voting with the Coalition Government) - here is a taste of his explanation.
Meanwhile, the Chairman warned the angry interrupting senators that:
"I can at this point advise senators that I have cancelled my flight tonight. So I am in no hurry to finish this, but we will finish this with the Senate having some order."
Read the whole argument after 6:53 pm.
What does the bill do?
The bill strengthens the laws against tax avoidance for certain companies. For example, it introduces anti-avoidance measures to deal with multinational companies with an annual global income of more than $A1 billion that use schemes to avoid having to pay tax in Australia or at least reduce that tax to a minimum.
To learn more about the bill, see the bills digest.
Votes Not passed by a small majority
Nobody rebelled against their party.
| Party | Votes | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Greens (90% turnout) | 0 Yes – 9 No | |
| Richard Di Natale Victoria | No | |
| Sarah Hanson-Young SA | No | |
| Scott Ludlam WA | No | |
| Nick McKim Tasmania | No | |
| Lee Rhiannon NSW | No | |
| Janet Rice Victoria | No | |
| Rachel Siewert WA | No | |
| Robert Simms SA | No | |
| Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania | No | |
| Larissa Waters Queensland | Absent | |
| Australian Labor Party (71% turnout) | 17 Yes – 0 No | |
| Catryna Bilyk Tasmania | Yes | |
| Carol Brown Tasmania | Yes | |
| Joe Bullock WA | Yes | |
| Doug Cameron NSW | Yes | |
| Jacinta Collins Victoria | Yes | |
| Stephen Conroy Victoria | Yes | |
| Sam Dastyari NSW | Yes | |
| Katy Gallagher ACT | Yes | |
| Sue Lines WA | Yes | |
| Joe Ludwig Queensland | Yes | |
| Jenny McAllister NSW | Yes | |
| Anne McEwen SA | Yes | |
| Claire Moore Queensland | Yes | |
| Nova Peris NT | Yes | |
| Lisa Singh Tasmania | Yes | |
| Anne Urquhart Tasmania | Yes | |
| Penny Wong SA | Yes | |
| Kim Carr Victoria | Absent | |
| Alex Gallacher SA | Absent | |
| Chris Ketter Queensland | Absent | |
| Jan McLucas Queensland | Absent | |
| Deborah O'Neill NSW | Absent | |
| Helen Polley Tasmania | Absent | |
| Glenn Sterle WA | Absent | |
| Ricky Muir Victoria Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party | Absent | |
| Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party | No | |
| Gavin Marshall Victoria Deputy President | Yes | |
| Bob Day SA Family First Party | Absent | |
| Jacqui Lambie Tasmania Independent | Yes | |
| Glenn Lazarus Queensland Independent | Yes | |
| Nick Xenophon SA Independent | Yes | |
| John Madigan Victoria Independent | Absent | |
| David Leyonhjelm NSW Liberal Democratic Party | No | |
| Liberal National Party (100% turnout) | 0 Yes – 2 No | |
| Matthew Canavan Queensland | No | |
| James McGrath Queensland | No | |
| Liberal Party (80% turnout) | 0 Yes – 20 No | |
| Christopher Back WA | No | |
| Cory Bernardi SA | No | |
| Simon Birmingham SA | No | |
| David Bushby Tasmania | No | |
| Richard Colbeck Tasmania | No | |
| Mathias Cormann WA | No | |
| Sean Edwards SA | No | |
| David Fawcett SA | No | |
| Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW | No | |
| Mitch Fifield Victoria | No | |
| Bill Heffernan NSW | No | |
| David Johnston WA | No | |
| Jo Lindgren Queensland | No | |
| Ian Macdonald Queensland | No | |
| Marise Payne NSW | No | |
| Linda Reynolds WA | No | |
| Michael Ronaldson Victoria | No | |
| Anne Ruston SA | No | |
| Scott Ryan Victoria | No | |
| Dean Smith WA | No | |
| Eric Abetz Tasmania | Absent | |
| George Brandis Queensland | Absent | |
| Michaelia Cash WA | Absent | |
| Zed Seselja ACT | Absent | |
| Arthur Sinodinos NSW | Absent | |
| National Party (75% turnout) | 0 Yes – 3 No | |
| Bridget McKenzie Victoria | No | |
| Fiona Nash NSW | No | |
| John Williams NSW | No | |
| Barry O'Sullivan Queensland | Absent | |
| Nick Xenophon SA Nick Xenophon Team | Absent | |
| Dio Wang WA Palmer United Party | No | |
| Stephen Parry Tasmania President | No | |
| Totals (78% turnout) | 21 Yes – 38 No |
Turnout is the percentage of members eligible to vote that did vote.