"It's not about being up to standard, the changes are happening so fast, we are all trying to keep up," he told Fairfax Media ahead of the release of the research commissioned by Microsoft on Monday. "Talking to my partner network they all tell me that they can't find enough skilled talent to come into the company." The survey, by market research firm IDC, also found there would be a 24 per cent increase in the number of new roles created by digital transformation while 30 per cent of workers would have to be upskilled. The World Bank said digital transformation would increase Australia's gross domestic product by $US35 billion by 2021, but "siloed, resistant cultures" and a lack of data could put that gain at risk, according to IDC. Mr Worrall said Microsoft invested "where it felt it could have the most impact" not where it could pay the least tax which was not a key factor in investment decisions.

Microsoft's Steven Worrall Credit:Mark Nolan Unlike smaller operations, Microsoft has the ability to legally shift profits to lower tax jurisdictions as research and development credits, meaning Australia's headline tax rate of 30 per cent has less of an impact on the global company. It reached a confidential settlement with the Tax Office last year after an audit found some of the $1.8 billion revenue it generated in Australia was transferred to Microsoft's regional headquarters in the tax-havens of Singapore and Ireland. The International Monetary Fund, former treasury secretary Ken Henry and the Business Council of Australia have all argued for broad-based tax reform, including company tax cuts, while BHP chief Andrew Mackenzie has pledged, if the cuts are passed, BHP will invest in Australia after increasing returns to shareholders.

The business pressure comes as Treasurer Scott Morrison gets set to ramp up his attacks on the "populist economics" of Opposition Leader Bill Shorten again this week, accusing Labor of failing to step up and a "wilful obstructionism to Australians’ prosperity," as the Coalition increasingly resigns itself to fighting an election over the issue. Mr Morrison warned companies would flee the country while Australians were sitting on the beach if the Senate did not pass the tax cut in the wake of the Trump administration's decision to slash taxes in the US. "If we think that somehow here, at this end of the world, we can be complacent about our tax settings for business and where investment goes, then we’re kidding ourselves," he reiterated this week. Labor has opposed the tax cuts, describing them as a handout to big business that is unaffordable as long as the budget is in deficit.

Deloitte Access Economics found the proposed company tax cuts would increase GDP by $20 billion a year by 2027, pushing Australia's effective average tax rate back below Canada and New Zealand. But the research has done little to convince the Senate cross bench. The crucial votes of the Nick Xenophon Team and One Nation both remain publicly opposed, giving the tax cuts no chance of passing despite a recent Senate shakeup following a spate of dual-citizenship resignations.