Rudd Plans Lower Tax Rate to Boost Northern Australia Economy

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, seeking re-election in a Sept. 7 ballot, said his Labor government would lower company tax rates in northern Australia within five years under a plan to boost the region’s economy.

Labor would also work with the Northern Territory government to expand the Ord Irrigation Scheme, boosting output in the region by about A$150 million ($138 million) a year though increased agricultural production, including sugar, Rudd told reporters in Darwin today.