CANBERRA, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Australia will have one of the highest company tax rates among developed nations if it is not cut, the Business Council of Australia (BCA) warned on Monday.
Australia's business tax rate is 30 percent, fifth highest among member nations of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
In a statement issued on Monday, Jennifer Westacott, chief executive officer (CEO) of the BCA, said that Australia would rank the third-highest in the OECD when the governments of France and the United States upheld promises to slash the company tax rates.
"As other countries have slashed their company tax rates to improve competitiveness, Australia has been left to languish with a rate that has been unchanged for 16 years," Westacott said in a statement on Monday.
"The average company tax rate across the OECD is 24 percent and falling. The average across Asia is 21 percent.
"This global action should be a wake-up call for the Senate that Australia cannot afford to stand still, since every company tax reduction overseas is a de facto tax increase on Australia."
Westacott's comments have increased pressure on Treasurer Scott Morrison to secure a business tax cut.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has proposed a 10-year tax reduction but those changes have stalled in the Senate where the government does not hold a majority.
However, Westacott said that the proposed changes did not go far enough.
"The proposal currently before the parliament to lower the rate to 25 percent, will take a decade to be phased in, and will still leave Australian above the OECD average and significantly higher than other countries with whom we compete for investment and jobs," she said.
"Australia needs a pro-growth, competitive tax system for all businesses, big and small, to stimulate investment, raise productivity and increase the real wages of working Australians."
