Govt to reveal tax stance 'before poll'

Federal Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner has refused to speculate on the future direction of company taxes, but he says the trend has been for them to fall.

The Henry Tax Review remains in the government's pending tray, and Mr Tanner wasn't revealing much on Tuesday.

"I have no doubt that prior to the election we'll be giving a full indication of what our position with respect to taxation is, right across the board," Mr Tanner told reporters in Canberra.

Mr Tanner was responding to Opposition Leader Tony Abbott's parental leave plan that would put a levy on big business.

On company taxes more widely, Mr Tanner would not speculate on changes in the future.

"There is no doubt that like a number of taxes the pressure economically has been downward rather than upward," he said.

"These things do change over time ... inevitably that's a major consideration for the government."

The review, which looked at all levels of Australian taxes with the exception of the GST, was completed by Treasury Secretary Ken Henry and handed over to the government just before Christmas.

Treasurer Wayne Swan ruled out any increase in the rate of GST to accommodate the government's plan to partly fund public hospitals.

From 2013/14 it will redirect a third of GST revenue to its National Health and Hospital Network.

The rate of GST has been 10 per cent since its introduction in July 2000.

"I certainly rule out any increase in the GST," Mr Swan told parliament on Tuesday.

"I also repeat the pledge we have given, which is to keep tax as a percentage of GDP at the level we inherited."

Uncertainty over the taxation outlook doesn't appear to have hurt businesses, with new data showing their confidence has rebounded to match last November's seven-year high.

At the same time, demand for workers has soared.

The National Australia Bank's monthly business survey showed its confidence index gained four points to 19 points in February, matching last November's peak.

The ANZ job advertisement series also released on Monday - a key pointer to future employment growth - jumped by a record 19.1 per cent in February and more than reversing the surprise 8.1 per cent decline in January.

"In the near term, the forward indicators appear positive for more employment growth through the first half of 2010," ANZ chief economist Warren Hogan said releasing the data.

As of January, around 195,000 jobs were created in the space of five months helping to cut the jobless rate to 5.3 per cent from last year's peak of 5.8 per cent.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics releases its February labour force report on Thursday.

Economists' forecasts centre on a 10,000 increase in the number of people employed in the month with the jobless rate nudging up to 5.4 per cent.