Aussie Budget

[lissica]

Anyone watch the budget last night?

Don't know if it will have much impact today...most of the stuff seems to have been leaked previously.

http://business.smh.com.au/federalbudget2008

Tax cuts, spending cuts. All seems good to me.

Sorry, not sure if this should be in the ASX forum or off-market discussions...

[COLIN]

Anyone watch the budget last night?

Don't know if it will have much impact today...most of the stuff seems to have been leaked previously.

http://business.smh.com.au/federalbudget2008

Tax cuts, spending cuts. All seems good to me.

Sorry, not sure if this should be in the ASX forum or off-market discussions...

The bit that caught my eye was the reference to investment in "clean coal" ahead of alternative energy. (See my questions on the LNC thread.)

[shane_m]

its good, tax cuts. I like to accumulate as many auzi dollars as I can.

also more spending on infrastructure....

[AMR]

(Reuters)
CANBERRA, May 13 (Reuters) - Australia's government will remove an exemption on tax on condensate in its latest budget, giving it a potential windfall of some A$2.5 billion ($2.3 billion) over the next four years.
The government said that under the measures, all condensate production from fields in the North West Shelf project off the coast of western Australia, as well as from onshore sites, will be subject to crude oil excise, effective May 13, 1400 GMT.
The excise rate for condensate will be the same as crude oil from petroleum fields discovered after 18 Sept. 1975. Under these terms, the top crude oil excise rate, which applies once annual production reaches over 5 million barrels a year, is 30 percent.
The first 30 million barrels of crude produced from a field is exempt from crude oil excise.
Past production of condensate from a petroleum field will contribute towards meeting this threshold before the crude oil excise becomes payable, the government said.
Condensate, a by-product of natural gas, is used to make gasoline and diesel. The government had initially exempted tax on condensate output to encourage gas exploration.
The government said the measure will increase the return to Australia from allowing private companies to extract resources. It is also part of the government's plan to save A$33 billion over the next four years as it looks to offset budget spending to keep a lid on inflation.