“We welcome this historic step towards rebooting Australia’s international competitiveness and prosperity,” Business Council chief executive Jennifer Westacott said following Finance Minister Mathias Cormann’s announcement in the Senate this afternoon.

“It is now imperative that parliament continue negotiating the full passage of the Enterprise Tax Plan, which should remain in the budget as the only policy on the table to revive the economy with better jobs and higher incomes. There is no Plan B to get the economy moving again.

“Mathias Cormann has done an outstanding job in negotiating this agreement, the benefits of which will be enjoyed by millions of Australian workers. It was pleasing to see Minister Cormann recommit to prosecuting the case for the whole package.

“We thank those crossbench senators who support this agreement for their genuine engagement during negotiations. They have recognised that Australia’s company tax rates are out-of-step with the rest of the world and are holding back job creation and income growth.

“Malcolm Turnbull’s unwavering advocacy for the full Enterprise Tax Plan is to be applauded. Any politician can run from difficult reform, but it takes real leadership to stick to your guns, stare down your opponents and do what’s right for the country.

“The Prime Minister fought and won the last election on his promise to reduce the company tax rate for all businesses to 25 per cent over 10 years. Polling shows the Enterprise Tax Plan remains more popular than either major party.

“Large businesses accounted for more than two-thirds of the increase in private-sector employment over the five years to June 2015, are responsible for most of Australia’s investment and are the most vulnerable to global competition.

“When larger employers don’t invest, that has serious flow-on effects to smaller businesses and to job creation and higher incomes.”