Corporate tax cut major focus for Aussie gov't in 2018: Treasurer

CANBERRA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison has slated cutting the nation's company tax rate as a major focus in 2018.

It was revealed earlier in January that the Australian economy had added 400,000 jobs between December 2016 and December 2017, a figure that Morrison said was due to the government's first round of company tax cuts passed in March.

The changes implemented in March cut the tax rate for companies whose revenues exceeded 40 million U.S. dollars but the government now faces strong opposition to Morrison's plan to cut the tax rate from 30 percent to 25 percent over the next decade.

The opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) has dismissed the plan as an "extraordinary waste of money" while Senate crossbenchers, the support of whom the government requires to pass the bill, have already rejected the proposal once.

Despite the obstacles, Morrison on Monday said that the government is also committed to delivering personal income tax cuts, describing 2018 as a "year of opportunity" for businesses and workers.

"They need to be supported with the right policies and that means easing the tax burden both on Australian businesses and hard-working Australians," he told Fairfax Media.

"And that's what the government is focused on in 2018 as we work towards the budget and as we come back to the parliament to seek support for the enterprise tax plan."

Morrison used the dramatic tax cut in the United States which was implemented from Jan. 1 as an example of what could be achieved, saying the 14 percent cut had had a "dramatic" impact in less than a month.

Australia's corporate tax rate of 30 percent is one of the highest among the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nations.

"We have the opportunity now to catch up," Morrison said.

"We had the opportunity before to get ahead and as a result of the obstruction from the Labor Party we were unable to do that." Enditem