House debates
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Questions without Notice
Carbon Pricing
2:21 pm
Peter Dutton (Dickson, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Ageing) Share this | Hansard source
I refer the Prime Minister to Ben Turner, who runs a small business employing five people in my electorate. Ben's latest power bill has skyrocketed to $2,000 with a 25 per cent increase to his retail electricity charges as a direct result of the carbon tax.
Given small business owners will receive no compensation for these rising costs, why won't the Prime Minister apologise to them for promising, 'There will be no carbon tax under a government I lead'?
Tibor Majlath
Posted on 7 Dec 2015 10:28 am
Now, the LNP's tax on the total bill, the GST = $2000/11 = $181.82
The bill ex GST = $(2000 - 181.82) = $1818.18
On average an electricity bill is made up as 10% GST: 70% electricity: 20% Network charges.
The approximate cost of electricity + carbon tax = $1818.18 x 7 / 9 = $1414.14
The cost of the Network charges = $1818.18 x 2 / 9 = $404.04
The carbon tax was charged on the amount of electricity used as $/kwh.
The LNP announced that with the repeal of the carbon tax, electricity prices can be expected to fall by UP TO 12.4%.
FIRSTLY, let's use the LNP's own highest carbon tax rate for electricity of 12.4% and the lowest of 10% as a guide.
The estimated cost of electricity ex 10% carbon tax = $1414.14/1.1 = $1285.58
A 10% carbon tax amounts to $128.56
The component costs of the final bill with a 10% carbon tax are
Electricity cost ex tax = $1285.58 or 64.3% of $2000
Network Charges cost ex tax = $404.04 or 20.2% of $2000
Labor's Carbon Tax = $128.56 or 6.4% of $2000
LNP's GST = $181.82 or 9.1% of $2000
SECONDLY, the estimated cost of electricity ex 12.4% carbon tax = $1414.14/1.124 = $1258.13
A 12.4% carbon tax comes to $156.01
The component costs of the final bill with a 12.4% carbon tax are
Electricity cost ex tax = $1258.13 or 62.9% of $2000
Network Charges cost ex tax = $404.04 or 20.2% of $2000
Labor's Carbon Tax = $156.01 or 7.8% of $2000
LNP's GST = $181.82 or 9.1% of $2000
THIRDLY, there is no way the entire 25 per cent increase to this business' retail electricity charges was a direct result of the carbon tax.
The price of "Electricity + Network Charges + 10% carbon tax" is $(1285.58 + 404.04 + 128.56) = $1818.18
The price of "Electricity + Network Charges + 12.4% carbon tax" is $(1258.13 + 404.04 + 156.01) = $1818.18
This claim implies the pre carbon tax retail electricity cost was $1818.18/1.25 = $1454.54 (with a 25% increase), therefore
With a 10% carbon tax we have a 100 x 128.56 / 1454.54 = +8.84% increase due to the CT (my CT was in this range)
With a 12.4% carbon tax we have a 100 x 156.01 / 1454.54 = +10.73% increase due to the CT (pretty much what was observed)
FINALLY, it is obvious that general price increases of between 14% and 16% were also included in the 25% to make the 'carbon tax effect' much worse than it was.