Chris Bowen (McMahon, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Why did the Prime Minister propose that states be allowed to levy their own income taxes?

Malcolm Turnbull (Wentworth, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to 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.