THE NEWS WRAP: Wayne Swan’s corporate tax shake-up angers business groups

The Federal Government’s shake-up of the corporate tax regime has angered business groups, with lobbyists claiming that businesses are in the “firing line” due to Labor’s scramble to achieve a budget surplus next year.

Yesterday, Treasurer Wayne Swan announced that companies with turnover of more than $1 billion will pay tax in monthly instalments, rather than quarterly, from 2014. This arrangement will then be rolled out to firms with more than $20 million in turnover.

“Once again, we’re seeing that business is firmly in the Government’s firing line when it comes to helping out the budget bottom line,” said the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry director of economics Greg Evans, according to the ABC.

“This is a double blow for business. In the May budget business missed out on a company tax cut, and now business is being asked to remit company tax much more frequently.”

Aussie firms failing the Asian test

Australian businesses place little importance on access to Asian markets or bilingual staff, harming their chances of competing in the ‘Asian century’, according to a new report.

A CPA Australia study found that businesses aren’t doing enough to forge pathways into Asian markets, with overseas respondents rating Australia poorly in terms of its knowledge of Asia and its languages.

Yahoo posts revenue rise

Yahoo’s fortunes could be on the turn after the struggling web giant posted a 2% rise in revenues for the third quarter of 2012.

The $US1.09 billion revenue was up from the $US1.07 billion achieved in 2011, in what was the first quarter under new CEO Marissa Mayer.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 67 points, or 0.5%, to 13276. The Australian dollar fell to 103.18 US cents.