TONY ABBOTT: Well, the total cost of this will be about $3.8 billion. About $1 billion will come from the baby bonus, $2.7 billion though I'm anticipating will come from a levy on the taxable incomes of larger businesses.
LEIGH SALES: So if you're putting a levy on big business, what happens in a time of economic downturn when takings are less? How then are you going to get this $2.7 billion?
LEIGH SALES: So if you're putting a levy on big business, what happens in a time of economic downturn when takings are less? How then are you going to get this $2.7 billion?
TONY ABBOTT: Well, obviously if there was a very serious economic downturn, you would have to make it up subsequently, but over time there would be every expectation that that would be more than enough to meet the cost of the scheme. http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2010/s2840098.htm
Mr Abbott has cut the levy on companies with income over $5 million to 1.5 per cent from the 1.7 per cent announced before the campaign and yesterday he said he wanted it to be temporary, though it depended on the economy moving into surplus. ''I'm just not going to put a timetable on it,'' he said. http://www.theage.com.au/federal-election/no-timetable-for-removing-business-levy-20100803-115gg.html
Even if it was to be paid by business, do you think they wouldn't pass the costs on to the consumer. The baby leave WILL be paid for by us.
