Health Minister Open to Small Business Relief on Stamp Duty

Health Minister Mark Butler says the government is open to providing small businesses rollover relief to help them restructure their businesses to avoid paying additional state levied stamp duty.

Speaking to Channel Nine, Butler says the federal government will be talking to state and territory governments about their arrangements in the wake of the budget.

"If there is some need for some rollover relief for small businesses that restructure their arrangements because of changes to the trust laws, we've said again in the budget papers we're open to that," Butler says.

The health minister has also defended the government's move to impose a minimum 30 per cent tax on discretionary trusts from July 2028 in the federal budget.

Butler has denied that the changes amount to a tax on inheritance, and says people with existing discretionary trusts will be exempt from changes.

"There's no tax on inheritance, there no change to the treatment of fixed testamentary trusts, and if you have a discretionary testamentary trusts right now or on budget night, they won't change either," Butler says.

"So in the future, people should look at fixed testamentary trust arrangements," he says.

A leading public health academic has voiced fresh concern a cigarette giant was allowed to push for a cut to the tobacco excise behind closed doors at a recent parliamentary inquiry.

The May 4 hearing of the inquiry examining black market tobacco saw Philip Morris permitted to give testimony in private due to safety concerns.

The transcript of the hearing is now available online with names redacted and reveals an representative, known only as "Witness A", told the hearing a reduction of the tobacco excise would allow the federal government to "materially reduce illicit tobacco and bring consumers back into regulated channels".

Professor Becky Freeman, a long-time public health expert, gave evidence to yesterday's hearing and criticised the private testimony.

"I would turn it back to, what about the health and safety of their best customers, where two out of three people who don't quit, will die as a result of using those products. What kind of health and safety are we offering to them?" she told the hearing yesterday evening.

Professor Freeman is among health experts who are firmly against lowering the tobacco excise, a position also held by the federal government.

Hello and welcome to this morning's federal politics live blog! It's great to have you here with us early this Tuesday.

I'm Josh Boscaini joining you live from Parliament House in Canberra here and ready to bring you all of today's federal politics news.

First up this morning, a public health academic has raised concerns a cigarette giant was allowed to push for a cut to the tobacco excise behind closed doors at a recent parliamentary inquiry.

And the health minister has been on the defensive about the federal government's budget measures, including a new minimum 30 per cent tax on discretionary trusts and NDIS overhaul.

Let's get into the day and see what happens!

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