House debates
Tuesday, 19 April 2016
Questions without Notice
Taxation
2:52 pm
Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Hansard source
What we have seen in recent times is state governments urging the federal government to raise the GST and to raise income tax and to give the proceeds to the states to spend. We had a very good and revealing moment of clarity at COAG when I invited the states to consider taking responsibility for raising some taxes themselves, and they did not want to do that. They did not want to raise tax. That is great, because we do not want to raise income tax and neither do they. That means that the only people who want to raise income tax in this chamber are the opposition—the Shadow Treasurer and the Leader of the Opposition.
Tibor Majlath
Posted on 21 Apr 2016 7:25 am
Yes, there was a moment of clarity when the PM invited the states to consider taking responsibility for raising taxes themselves to pay for public hospitals and schools. Some of us remembered how we were promised in 2000 that the 10% GST would fix all the financial woes of hospitals and schools. The revenue from that tax grew by 92% over the period from 2000 to 2014 well above the rate of inflation in most years, yet it still hasn't fixed funding.
We recently heard how the PM's proposal for states to raise extra tax would have created an incentive for the states to better manage their financial affairs. But this was nothing but the increase of the GST by stealth which the PM said was not worth doing directly because it wouldn't have added to GDP.
The PM says "the only people who want to raise income tax in this chamber are the opposition-the Shadow Treasurer and the Leader of the Opposition." But then it must be acceptable to raise state taxes such as stamp duty, payroll, land taxes as long as it isn't federal income tax?
When is a tax not a tax? What utter hypocrisy.