Business tax cuts are "highly likely" to fail passing in parliament because the federal government isn't putting together broader reform, corporate leader Elizabeth Proust says.
The Business Council of Australia has launched a campaign to convince the public of the need for a lower corporate tax rate, which Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull wants to drop from 30 per cent to 25 per cent.
However, the focus on one element of tax reform was "highly likely to be unsuccessful", Ms Proust, the Australian Institute of Company Directors chair, said.
"We need reform of the GST, we need reform and lowering of personal income taxes and company taxes," she said on Wednesday.
"I think a narrow focus just on the reduction of company taxes means that we've got, just that - a narrow debate."
Labor has ramped up its opposition to the government's plan, using revelations of misconduct by banks to mount a case against corporate tax cuts.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten wants Treasurer Scott Morrison to rule out "golden handshakes" for executives after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority slammed the Commonwealth Bank in a scathing report.
He also warned against giving the banks a tax cut as a reward.
"If Mr Morrison is so worried about the conduct of Commonwealth Bank directors, why is he proposing to give them upwards of $4 billion in corporate tax cuts over the next 10 years?" Mr Shorten told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.
But using the actions of the banks to argue against business tax cuts conflated two separate issues, cabinet minister Michaelia Cash said.
"The banks are a fundamental part of our economy. What you don't want to do is start picking and choosing winners and losers in the tax system," Senator Cash told reporters in Canberra.
"As a government, it is in our DNA to do everything that we can to lower the tax burden in Australia."
The coalition is still negotiating with cross bench senators to get the company tax cuts through, after its most recent attempt failed in March.
It is hoping to either convince the two Centre Alliance senators or independents Tim Storer and Derryn Hinch.
