Prime Minister Anthony Albanese: Gas industry already pays ‘around $22 billion’, amid calls for tax levy
As the government prepares to hand down its next budget, calls for a new tax on liquefied natural gas exports appear likely to fall on deaf ears.
The prime minister has given the strongest indication yet his government will not impose a new tax on the nation’s gas giants in the May budget.
As calls grow for Labor to impose a 25 per cent levy on the liquefied natural gas sector - which stands to rake in huge profits from soaring prices driven by the Iran war - Anthony Albanese has talked up the industry’s tax contribution.
“They pay around about $22 billion... you need to acknowledge the tens of billions of dollars of investment that occurs in order to have that gas extracted,” he told the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing program.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Without that investment that’s come from North America, that’s come from Japan... we wouldn’t be having a debate because there wouldn’t have been that extraction.”
Pressed on the push for a new gas tax - which is supported by some Labor MPs - Mr Albanese said he wouldn’t rule anything in or out before the May 12 budget.
Woodside, Chevron, Santos, INPEX and peak body Australian Energy Producers are all expected to argue any new taxes on the sector would stifle investment and cost jobs, when they face a Greens-led senate hearing on the taxation of gas resources on Friday.
“For Australia to remain competitive, stability in fiscal settings is critical,” Chevron’s submission to the inquiry says.
“Introducing an additional tax on LNG exports would increase perceptions of sovereign risk and further reduce Australia’s attractiveness for long-term investment.”
A number of the gas companies have defended the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax regime, which has been criticised for raising little revenue from resources companies.
But this was by design, INPEX’s submission argued.
“The absence of PRRT payments in the early years of large LNG projects reflects intended design and phasing, not tax avoidance,” it said.
The system was designed to raise more tax income once projects matured and become more profitable, the Japanese-owned oil and gas company said.
Also scheduled to testify is Climate Analytics, which argues the energy crisis presents a rare opportunity to take more ambitious action against global warming.
“It would be broadly beneficial from a climate perspective for changes in the taxation regime to support a managed decline in Australian fossil gas use,” the advocacy group said in its submission.
But the organisation said any changes should not just seek to capture wartime windfall profits, but also drive structural changes in Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels.
