Sky News Australia


Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not ruled out changes to the GST as part of his big reform agenda he is planning to take to the next election, according to Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell.

Prior to the COVD-19 crisis, Mr Morrison ruled out lifting the GST from 10 per cent to 12 per cent or broaden the base to include fresh food and other basics.

That is despite a 2015 Treasury paper finding that GST only takes 20 cents out of the economy for each dollar taxed, as opposed to stamp duty which takes 80 cents out and company tax that takes 50 cents.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has lobbied his state and federal colleagues to consider changes to the GST in order to scrap less efficient taxes.

Mr Clennell said Prime Minister Scott Morrison is no longer ruling out changes to the GST.

“One big question around in federal circles at the moment is the big reform agenda Scott Morrison has been talking about and whether that will mean an early election in the second half of next year so Scott Morrison can sell that agenda,”he said.

“Now the PM has mentioned skills reform, IR reform and tax reform – this leads to the question, 20 years after the introduction of the GST in Australia, whether we will see the PM go to the next election with a policy to increase the GST or broaden its base to include food and education to allow other taxes to be cut and allow us to pay the pandemic debt back.

"I gave him the opportunity to rule this out today and he did not take it.”

Any comments?

Australia needs real tax reform not a band aid solution....Whilst Capitol Gains Tax, Negative Gearing and Franking Credits are off the table tax reform is bullshit and raising the G.S.T. will not fix the problem of rising hand outs to the wealthy by burdening the poor with higher costs???

Everyone wanted free stuff but now they'll pay for it.

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 30^th, 2020 at 1:09pm:



Did he give you any free stuff?

Bobby. wrote on Jun 29^th, 2020 at 3:49pm:



well its been 10% for 20 years.... I dont think anyone can complain and I am surprised it hasnt happened already to be honest......its about the only fair tax we have   everyone pays it...no writing it off or claiming its a gift....as it should be.......I will go for 15%.. and assuming that gets passed   it will eventually end up 20% down the track.....

in Denmark its 25%vat...one of the highest taxing countries in the world......I think it includes everything ...not sure though.

cods wrote on Jun 30^th, 2020 at 5:03pm:



We have lived way beyond our means since 2008 and the GFC.
Our national debt must be over $1 trillion by now.
It has to be paid back so expect a higher GST.

Bobby. wrote on Jun 30^th, 2020 at 8:05pm:

Or we could repeal the unfunded tax cuts for the rich.

Why should 90% of the population pay more of a great big tax on everything so the 10% can have lower taxes?

The debt doesn't actually have to paid off in any short time period ... unlike personal debt.

The Government goes on "forever", so it can keep the debt "forever" if it wants to.

Bam wrote on Jul 1^st, 2020 at 12:01pm:



We are in a terrible mess.
I don't know what the answer is.

Captain Nemo wrote on Jul 1^st, 2020 at 12:47pm:

Correct. A deficit can be sustained indefinitely as long as it is sustainable. A deficit to GDP ratio that is lower than the CPI (assuming CPI below 3%) can be sustained indefinitely because it does not increase the debt to GDP ratio.

What is not sustainable is debt that grows faster than GDP.

Bobby. wrote on Jul 1^st, 2020 at 3:24pm:


What's not too high?

greggerypeccary wrote on Jun 30^th, 2020 at 1:09pm:


I think your view is unfair and incorrect, he is really quite chubby.

Bam wrote on Jul 1^st, 2020 at 1:23pm:


So - errr - adding privatised costs of energy and using roads etc doesn't add to COL which adds to the equation of CPI/GDP?

Transfer of public rorted money to private hands does not affect any of this?  The User Pays - yes?

https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6168502527001


Raise the GST once and governments will 'never stop' increasing it
01/07/2020|5min

Once the GST is increased governments will not resist lifting it again and again, according to The Australian’s Adam Creighton.

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet along with former deputy prime minister John Anderson, have called for the government to begin significant tax reform including raising the GST.

Raising the GST could allow states to eliminate state-based taxes like stamp duty and land tax, an idea already flagged by the NSW and Victorian governments.

Mr Creighton told Sky News host Peta Credlin while the NSW government is “right to stress the stamp duty land tax swap,” the broadening and increasing of the GST will be very politically difficult.

Bam wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2020 at 5:15pm:




Quote:


That's what they said last time - all bullshit.

Pedro Curevo wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2020 at 10:48pm:



Payroll tax is outrageous -

it makes it more expensive to hire someone
and it's money that can't go into an employees pocket.
It's a form of double tax as the employee has to pay
tax on earnings and an invisible tax as well.
Whenever I had a yearly performance/pay  review
the amount of payroll tax was mentioned as a reason
why I couldn't get more salary or
that it was limited to CPI such as 2%.

What I get paid should be none of the state Govts business.
It should be between me and the Federal Govt. tax dept.
I can't claim payroll tax as a deduction.
It's only fair because it rorts everyone not only me.

If we added all the actual and invisible taxes up I
wouldn't be surprised if at least half of what we earn
ends up as tax.

Bobby. wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2020 at 5:04am:

I agree that payroll tax is a bad tax.

More reasons why it's a bad tax:
* It acts as a disincentive to hire workers. This is most obvious for those businesses that are exempt from payroll tax but would lose that exemption if they hire additional staff.
* It has significant compliance issues. Each state and territory has its own payroll tax, with different rates and exemptions, changing every year.

Payroll tax should be scrapped and replaced with a single federal tax such as a flat-rate turnover tax with no discounts and no exemptions, with the proceeds given to the states per capita. Replacing payroll taxes with a turnover tax of about 1% would do the same thing for payroll tax that the GST did for sales taxes. Other inefficient state-based taxes on businesses can be abolished as well.

Bobby. wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2020 at 3:16pm:

A turnover tax is a tax on company turnover, or the gross revenue. Employee details are not required.

Turnover taxes exist in other countries, such as South Africa where small businesses can use it as an opt-in alternative to their equivalent of a GST with less paperwork.

Bobby. wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2020 at 5:08pm:


Don't worry, the idea is as dumb as dogshit and will never happen.

Bobby. wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2020 at 7:53pm:

Turnover tax.

Dnarever wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2020 at 10:56pm:



We are in great financial trouble.
The Govts. will increase all forms of taxes
to try and make up for the shortfall.

see here:
https://australiandebtclock.com.au/

Dnarever wrote on Jul 4^th, 2020 at 5:09pm:



One thing is for sure -
you'll pay more than you should pay.

Bam wrote on Jul 5^th, 2020 at 9:36pm:



One thing is for sure -
you'll pay more than you should pay.

Bam wrote on Jul 5^th, 2020 at 9:36pm:


Not quite. It has been explained to you thoroughly countless times over the years but obviously hasn't quite sunk in.

Firstly, they're not a new form of tax and are known as cascading taxes whereby the tax is applied on the total value at each and every point along the supply chain from primary producer to consumer. For large organisations like Woolies, Bunnings, Rio Tinto etc, the solution is a simple one. Vertically integrate backwards along the chain by buying up all of your suppliers so that the tax is paid only once. Smaller businesses can't do this and end up paying the tax themselves on goods that have already been taxed many times. When they can no longer compete, they go out of business and government revenue dries up.

This is precisely what happened in Europe around a century ago when these taxes were popular and then replaced with the VAT we see today.

What other bright ideas do you have for us chew on.

crocodile wrote on Jul 6^th, 2020 at 8:57am:

I see you've posted much speculative mumbling without any actual basis in fact. Your one response to everything is "cut business taxes". Sooner or later you'll understand that at some point business tax reform would require some businesses to pay more tax, not less - the businesses that currently avoid or evade taxes. Why should businesses be exempt from broadening the tax base?

Why are you whining so loudly about "cascading effects" of a tax that would be on the order of 1% of a company's earnings? If implemented properly, a turnover tax would reduce the total tax burden for most companies (including compliance costs) without reducing government revenue: it would be a part of a package where other business taxes would be scrapped (eg: payroll tax), or reduced. If all businesses paid taxes (through a broader business tax base) instead of most of them, the profitable businesses would pay less.

If such a small tax forces companies to "go out of business" despite other taxes being removed, those companies are already doomed to fail.

Got any more specious mumbling?

Bam wrote on Jul 6^th, 2020 at 5:16pm:


Specious mumbling my arse. Cascade taxes have been tried and failed throughout history. The reasons for failure are well understood. That is a market distortion that promotes vertical integration resulting in just a handful of behemoths with lower competition. Why do you think the Europeans ditched it in favour of VAT. You clearly do not understand the impact of cascading with your 1% nonsense. It's 1% compounding on each and every transaction right through the supply chain.

Turnover or transfer tax was actually considered a few years ago.

Until the banks and multinationals got wind of it.

It was then quashed so fast and so thoroughly that it was obscene.

The way it works is.
Every time money changes hands, you are taxed, let's say for arguments sake, 5%

Joe Blogg goes to work and money is transferred into his bank account......5% tax
He then withdraws some money to buy something......5% tax
He buys the goods and walks out......5%tax

Total tax 15%

How does the grubberment make any money from that you say?

How much money is being transferred, moved and invested every day by the banks?
Money, which cannot be taxed if it's not just sitting there?
Trillions......now 5% of this would be a huge windfall for the grubberment.
No dodgy tax laws or rules to get around, simply 5% of any money transferred.

This would also make getting cash from multinationals much easier.
5% of all transfers thank you sir....

But 5% could be too much.
Perhaps 2 or 3% would still bring in billions to our lazy incompetent grubberment to waste.
And we could shed ourselves of the entire ATO, because all it takes is a computer system to track every transaction , and we know that's happening already.

But, and it's a big BUT.
Banks, multinationals and grubberment paper bag suppliers (With content)

Certainly don't want anything that will make them pay what they owe.

It's better to screw the poor worker for 48% tax .....plus GST and sales tax and fees and charges.

As long as we have corrupt public serve us and politicians who enjoy their brown paper bags of cash, and that will be forever.

We will never see a true, honest and fair tax system.

juliar wrote on Jul 8^th, 2020 at 7:14am:

Bobby. wrote on Jul 8^th, 2020 at 7:22am:


But, he wouldn't pay too much tax on his JobKeeper that the Liberal Party pay him at the moment.

And, when he goes back to 'normal' JobSeeker in a couple of months time, he won't be paying any tax at all.

Bobby. wrote on Jul 8^th, 2020 at 7:22am:


We pay more than we should already. Taxes are unlikely to rise as a result of current circumstances anyway.

Yes but Bob, how much tax SHOULD people pay ?  More or less than now ?

Bobby. wrote on Jul 8^th, 2020 at 8:58am:


How much is too much?

greggerypeccary wrote on Jul 8^th, 2020 at 9:22am:



Half of what you earn or could earn if
it wasn't for all the invisible taxes.


( payroll tax , land tax  etc)

juliar wrote on Jul 8^th, 2020 at 9:25am:



Super is a cash cow for the Govt.
and $23 billion in fees is stolen from it every year.