The Greens have today announced they will push for a new 40% corporate super-profits tax on the excess profits made by big corporations, including mining corporations, in the balance of power after the next election.

The Greens’ push for a ‘tycoon tax’ follows the announcement this week of record super-profits across retail and mining sectors, and National Account figures showing the profit share of national income at the highest (30.3%) since records began, eclipsing last year’s new record¹.

One Nation has let the Government off the hook on JobKeeper rorts, just as public pressure is mounting to unsustainable levels, the Greens say.

“Reporting which publicly listed companies received JobKeeper isn’t nearly enough as most of this information was already available,” Greens Economic Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“This stitch up covers less than 5% of the $90 billion in JobKeeper payments made  - private companies, private schools and foreign entities will be exempt, and we may never know how much they received.”

Companies claiming a bigger share of profits at the direct expense of workers shows the need to properly tax big corporations and the super wealthy, the Greens say.

National accounts figures released today show that the wage share of total income has fallen to just 50.6 per cent, the second lowest on record and lowest in 61 years.

The figures also show that profits share of income has hit 30.3 per cent, the highest on record.

Harvey Norman’s record profits show the need to make big corporations and billionaires pay their fair share of tax, the Greens say.

“Harvey Norman is making super profits while millions of workers are trying to make ends meet in lockdown,” Greens Economic Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim said.

“Paying back some of the JobKeeper they took is a drop in the bucket compared to the massive dividends Gerry Harvey has paid himself and other shareholders."

"Harvey Norman only paid back part of JobKeeper, and only after being publicly named and shamed."

The Australian Greens have slammed the government’s changes to support measures for the NSW lockdown, saying that the paltry concessions are a wasted opportunity that will leave people in poverty and risk further evictions. 

Despite acknowledging that existing support levels are too low, the additional scraps announced this afternoon are too narrow, and too miserly to protect people.

Greens leader Adam Bandt will announce the next steps in the Greens campaign to make the billionaires and big corporations pay their fair share today, with a Budget push for the Morrison government to force the billionaires and big corporations who profited from JobKeeper to pay it back.

The Greens will today announce key election policies, including a ‘billionaires tax’ to help fund genuinely free public schools, dental into Medicare and a job for everyone who wants one. 

With the party considering an election in November of this year still a possibility and a minority parliament the most likely outcome, Mr Bandt will push for a tax on billionaires & corporate super profits as part of dealings with a future shared power government.