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One of the big four firms has put a series of proposals to the government in an effort to instigate a significant shake-up of the tax and super legislation related to Indigenous Australians.
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Big four firm lobbies for Indigenous tax reforms
13 October 2016
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8 minute read
In a report released this week, KPMG said the federal government should create an "Indigenous Community Development Corporation", designed so the Indigenous community can hold assets, make investments and receive income from royalties.
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For large-scale projects in northern Australia, a 10-year tax holiday should be deemed where certain criteria on Indigenous employment are met, KPMG said.
Further, KPMG said Indigenous business enterprise should be legislated and required to pay a small amount of tax if profitable, with the rate dependent on the levels of Indigenous ownership and employment.
KPMG also believes Indigenous equity funds should be established, and consideration given to federal government fund-matching on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
On the superannuation and wealth management front, KPMG believes Indigenous financial literacy must be increased through more innovative uses of software tailored specifically for mobile technologies.
The $10,000-per-annum limit for early access to superannuation savings should be increased in cases of severe hardship for Indigenous Australians, KPMG also said.
“We believe there’s great potential for Indigenous Australia to participate in economic growth, and that it is economic participation and commercial enterprise that will lead to better outcomes for Indigenous Australia,” said Peter Nash, chair of KPMG Australia.
“The imperative to drive economic growth is central to our national interest debates, but Indigenous Australia has largely been excluded from these discussions. Instead, the Indigenous narrative tends to revolve around how to ‘fix’ Indigenous Australia, largely through government and corporate welfare.”
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