A BUDGET revenue measure proposed by the Rudd Government to end the tax exemption of condensate has been passed by the Federal Parliament.
The Australian Greens, Family First and independent Senator Nick Xenophon all voted with the government to end a 31-year exemption on the substance, an oil by-product of gas production.
The government is expected to gain around $2.5b over the next four years because of the ratification.
Critics of plan claim it will affect the viability of Woodside Petroleum and the other North-West Shelf Project venturers in Western Australia.
WA Liberal Senator David Johnston says, “[The ratification]… is one of the greatest assaults on the living standards of Western Australians, I think, in the history of the Federation.” He claims the changes will force the prices for gas and electricity in the state upwards.
However, WA Greens Senator Rachel Siewert and WA Labour Senator Mark Bishop have defended the excise. Senator Siewert called the tax exemption “corporate welfare,” while Senator Johnston says it was time to fix a “historical tax anomaly.”
Senator Xenophon says the exemption was granted when the industry was in its infancy. He claims the condensate sector has developed into a profitable business and must now “pay up.”
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