Australia’s opposition accuses Turnbull of tax avoidance
Labor has criticised Malcolm Turnbull’s personal investment in a so-called “vulture fund” held in a Carribean tax haven.
Turnbull’s statement on his financial affairs followed Labor senator Sam Dastyari raising in the Senate Turnbull’s investments in several funds domiciled in the Cayman Islands.
Senator Dastyari said the investments were “all legal and disclosed” but asked: “Is any of it appropriate?” “But is any of it appropriate?”
“There is one reason people invest in the Cayman Islands – so they don’t have to play by the same rules as the rest of us”, Dastyari said in a short Senate speech.
ONLY through mutual respect with Australians of all religions and backgrounds can we expect to win the battle against extremism, according to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
“And it appalls all Australians and it appalls all Muslim Australians”, he said.
“[Labor] think[s] the way to address the country’s budget challenges is to pull more money out of the pockets of Australian taxpayers, that you need to tax businesses more, that you need to tax the savings of people more”, Morrison railed, perhaps forgetting that under the budget he inherited from Joe Hockey, this year’s tax take will be almost a full 1% of GDP higher than it was during Labor’s last year in power. You have to ask, who invests in the companies that claim to be headquartered in this house?
Mr Turnbull claimed that he and wife Lucy were incredibly fortunate, receiving a lot of ‘luck in their lives, ‘ The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
“There couldn’t be a bigger gap or difference behind Malcolm Turnbull and his millions of dollars sent to the Cayman Islands and the superannuation of ordinary Australians”, he said. There is the Bowery Opportunity Fund, with a minimum investment of US$1 million. “And we also know of 3G Natural Resources Offshore Fund”, Dastyari added.
“In order to avoid conflicts of interest, nearly all of my financial investments are in overseas-managed funds, which means that I have no say in which companies they invest in”.
“Thousands of managed funds with investors outside of the U.S. are registered in the Cayman Islands, with the result that the income of the fund is taxed in the hands of the investors in their own home jurisdictions”.
Cayman coming under fire from the other side of the world.
“This means that I and Lucy have no say in which single-name companies those managed funds invest in”, he said.
“The effect of that arrangement is that all of that income that accrues to my share of the investment is brought to account fully – and tax is paid on it – fully in Australia”, Turnbull told parliament.
Mr Turnbull said the crime that horrified Australia showed that “extremism ca be seen in the very young, people that we would regard as children”.
The Rudds’ money came from the business of his wife Therese Rein who, incidentally, divested the Australian arm to avoid the family having any conflict of interest.