The Coalition has been trying to pass its signature company tax cuts – which would lower the tax rate for all companies from 30 per cent to 25 per cent over the coming years – since it won the 2016 election.
Senator Pauline Hanson had agreed to support the plan if the government delivered a 1,000-place apprenticeship scheme.
But the One Nation leader was disappointed the places were not funded in the 2018 Budget.
“Upon reflection, in the budget, the government has done absolutely nothing. I couldn’t see anything there about the thousand-place apprenticeship scheme,” she told News Corp.
Senator Hanson’s backflip comes just as the government’s main negotiator in the Senate, Mathias Cormann, appeared close to securing the remaining numbers.
A proposal for a new tax on digital multinationals like Facebook and Uber was welcomed by Centre Alliance senators Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick, who could have tipped the balance.
Senator Hanson said the Coalition had failed to convince the public of the corporate tax plan, which would phase in gradually through to 2027.
“The people in general don’t want it. It has not been well-received,” she said.
“The government has not been able to sell the package to the people and they haven’t cut through.
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