Business groups are howling over the budget, and it’s getting messy |
Business groups are howling over the budget, and it’s getting messy
May 28, 2026 — 3:15pm
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.
Business groups of all shapes and sizes have united in their mission, setting their hair on fire in response to the central pillar of Jim Chalmers’ federal budget.
The chorus of detractors hasn’t faded since budget night, but has risen to a full throated roar just as the treasurer introduced the tax legislation to federal parliament on Thursday.
Sure, the whole point of any lobby is that it reflects the self-interest of those represented.
But business groups’ understandable gripe is they feel they have been winded by a government who provided little hint of how extensively it would alter a large part of the tax system. And the decision to thrust the legislation through quickly has rendered detractors wrong-footed in combating it.
The budget’s widespread unpopularity has even ruffled the feathers of two Labor premiers – NSW’s Chris Minns and West Australia’s Roger Cook.
Labor’s tax changes to face three-week Senate inquiry amid brawl with business
For the most part, the tax changes the........