THE Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has welcomed visa measures outlined in the Coalition’s Plan to Back Australian Tourism Jobs released last week.

"The Coalition’s policy commitment to deliver on improved arrival and visa processing systems is welcomed by ATEC, as visa processing times have been a major challenge for our industry and an issue we've been highlighting for some time” ATEC managing director, Peter Shelley said.

"Addressing the length of time it takes to process a visa application, and ensuring fast and efficient arrivals processes at the airport are important factors that will continue to contribute to Australia’s positioning as a sought after destination.

"We are pleased to see visas and processing issues are on the Coalition agenda, along with a benchmarking study which will identify our standing in this competitive area on the global stage," Mr Shelley said.

“The additional support for airport upgrades and a genuine investment in industry supported tourism icon infrastructure development was to be applauded along with small business tax breaks which were announced in the budget.”

However, Mr Shelley said the tourism export sector would be disappointed with the lack of additional marketing funds desperately required for Tourism Australia to maintain its ‘world leading’ tourism marketing program, especially given the number of competing countries which are now outspending Australia in efforts to attract international tourists -- stealing Australia’s market share as a result.

"It is disappointing that the call of the tourism industry, Australia’s second largest export industry, has not been recognised by the Coalition, especially when every $1 invested in marketing Australia as a tourism destination returns $15 to $20 to the Australian economy," Mr Shelley said.

“This week we saw the true contribution of our industry with the release of the National Tourism Satellite Account. Our industry contributed $57 billion to GDP, up 5 percent on the previous year while the rest of the economy is only growing at less than 3percent. Inbound tourism alone contributed 9.3 percent of total exports and we employed 5.2 percent of the workforce.

“We know that Tourism Drives Growth and that this industry has become a powerhouse of our economy, however we fear the hard-won success achieved over recent years is under threat in the absence of a genuine government commitment to invest in the future potential of this industry."

www.atec.net.au

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THE SAVINGS GAP between those Australians robbed of their super by rogue employers and those workers paid correctly has blown out by 25 percent in just three years, with new analysis shining a light on the unpaid super epidemic, according to Industry Super Australia (ISA).

ISA analysis of tax office data from 2016/17 by ex-Treasury official Phil Gallagher has revealed the extent of the theft, where employers withhold super payments to prop up their own books, robbing workers of their rightful entitlements.

The analysis shows since the first ISA analysis of ATO data in 2013/14, the number of workers short-changed super has climbed by 90,000 to a total of 2.85 million Australians being ripped off $5.94 billion in super entitlements (more than $2,000 each a year) – an increase of $340 million.

Most startling is the increase in the cumulative savings gap between those underpaid super in a single year, and those paid their entitlements – that has seen on average, a person not underpaid their super end up with around 50 percent more super than a worker underpaid in 2016-17. 

Underpayment seems to repeatedly affect the same workers and lead to large cumulative differences in their super balances.

The average gap in savings has blown out to $24,506 for 2016/17, up from $19, 709 in 2013/14 – an increase of 25 percent in the space of just three years.

It’s even worse for young workers under 25 with wages below $30,000 – those not underpaid in 2016/17 have an astonishing 81 percent more super accumulated than those who are underpaid. This shows how much damage could be done if the Government continues to fail to act.

The report has also shone a light on dodgy employers who exploit a loophole in the law where if workers choose to salary sacrifice and contribute to their super, employers then ‘count’ that as their super guarantee payment for that worker – robbing them of their rightful entitlement.

This unfair exploitation has seen 370,000 workers who think they are doing the right thing lose‑out on super payments totalling $1.5 billion.

The data also coincides with new research conducted by UMR which reveals more than half of Australians polled incorrectly believe employers are required by law to pay super into a workers account at the same time as salary – meaning many will not even know they are being ripped off.

Only 19 percent of Australians polled correctly identified that as many as one in three workers are currently being robbed of their super by their employer – proving the problem is a lot worse than people realise.

After being told that one in three workers are underpaid, or not paid super, a huge 93 percent of Australians say that stopping unpaid super by paying it at the same time as salary is important.

Other key take-outs from the ISA analysis of the ATO 2016/17 data include:

• Almost one in two young adults earning under $30,000 are underpaid superannuation;
• More than 43 percent of labourers, machinery operators and drivers have collectively missed out on more than $800 million making it to their super accounts in 2016/17; and
• Combining these risk factors reveals 75 percent of Australians short-changed their super contributions are aged under 35, or earn under $30,000 or are in blue collar jobs.

Industry Super Australia Chief Executive Bernie Dean called on the major political parties to act on what can only be described as systematic exploitation.

“This should be a wake-up call for the major parties. We are now seeing the cumulative damage the unpaid super epidemic is doing to workers’ super balances and it’s very clear,” Mr Dean said.

“Allowing employers to continue robbing workers of their super entitlement means these workers are going to end up worse off at retirement.

“While most employers do the right thing, unless we see action from the major parties this election, those dodgy employers are going to continue taking advantage of lax laws, a weak regulator and insufficient penalties to rip off these hardworking Australians.

“The research shows Australians are rightly concerned about their super and the fact that so many people are missing out on their entitlements. They overwhelmingly believe stopping unpaid super is an important issue and that something needs to be done.”

Mr Dean said there was a simple fix the major parties could commit to this election that would solve the problem.

“The easiest way to end this exploitation and ensure workers are paid their super is to simply legislate that all employers must deposit money into a workers super account at the same time as they deposit their salary into their bank account,” he said.

“Anything else is nothing more than a band-aid solution that won’t fix the problem and will only see more hardworking Australians have their super entitlements stolen by rogue employers.”

The full report by Industry Super Australia into this latest data can be accessed at https://www.industrysuper.com/assets/Uploads/d62c256bec/Super-Scandal-Unpaid-super-guarantee-in-2016-17-FINAL.pdf

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THE Federal Opposition contradicted its own housing policy this week when it said that proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax won’t have an appreciable impact on the price of housing, according to the Housing Industry Association.

“Labor’s proposals to increase capital gains tax on residential property investments and restrict access to negative gearing arrangements was intended to level the playing field between first home buyers and rental investors,” HIA managing director, Graham Wolfe said.

“How will first home buyers be better able to compete in the housing market if raising the taxes on residential rental property investors doesn’t impact house prices?

“How will additional taxation on housing deliver more affordable housing?

“Raising taxes on residential investors will constrain new rental property supply and inevitably place more pressure on housing affordability for hundreds of thousands of households that rely on rental accommodation," Mr Wolfe said.

“With no benefit for first home buyers and no increase in rental housing supply, the proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax will only add another layer of taxation to the substantial amount of taxes already levied on housing, which can be in excess of 40 percent of the cost of a new home.

“It is hard to see the proposed changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax as anything more than a tax grab masquerading as housing policy,” Mr Wolfe said.

www.hia.com.au

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LIBERAL DEMOCRATS Senator Duncan Spender has slammed the Australian Tax Office for its mistreatment of small businesses, as exposed by the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.

“Unfortunately the Ombudsman has confirmed what I already suspected: that the taxman is enforcing its debt recovery actions on small businesses, despite appeals processes still taking place,” he said.

“The fact that this was found to be occurring in at least 12 percent of cases is further cause for concern.

“While the Ombudsman has ordered the ATO to cease debt recovery action immediately, I’m concerned such maltreatment of small businesses will continue.

“The ATO should not have the power to reach into the backpockets of Australian small business owners to recover alleged debt, especially when the said debt is being contested.

“The ATO is garnishing the bank accounts of unsuspecting business owners, which puts their ability to pay wages, rent, overheads and supplier fees at huge risk. They are literally swiping the money out of the bank accounts of small businesses before any ongoing disputes have even been settled.

“Small businesses are already facing an uphill battle in this country. The last thing they need is the taxman preying on them when they are vulnerable," Senator Spender said.

“All Australians, including small business owners, need a low tax future. If elected, I pledge to make the necessary legislative amendments to ensure money made by small owners remains in their pockets, especially while ATO disputes are ongoing.”

The Ombudsman’s review into the ATO was conducted following a 2018 exposé by ABC’s Four Corners and Fairfax Media that showed alleged unfair treatment and heavy-handed tactics towards small business owners.

The final report was released on Monday and is available here.

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