Millions of Australians can breathe a sigh of relief as the Treasurer made his intention clear to not increase a major tax.
The proposal set forth by the Business Council of Australia mentioned in the group’s Size the Moment report was denied by Treasurer Jim Chalmers.
Replying to the reporters, he said, “We don’t have any plans or intention to change the rate of the GST.”
“When it comes to tax reform, we made it very clear… across two budgets, we think the most fertile ground for tax reform is multinationals, high-balance superannuation, compliance, cigarettes, and the petroleum rent resource tax legislation (PRRT).”
The BCA report suggested the government reconsider the tax system and propose to increase indirect taxes such as the GST.
As per the lobby group, a more competitive company tax rate should be encouraged by terminating stamp duty in favor of land tax.
According to the report, Australia would lose ground to rivals, and Australians’ living standards would decline unless significant economic changes were made.
Its publication precedes the Thursday release of the sixth Intergenerational Report (IGR), which is anticipated to show that Australia’s population will increase to 40 million while the proportion of those over 65 is predicted to double. Australians over the age of 85 will increase by three.
As a result, fewer Australians will have children, which will result in an overall reduction in the income tax pool at a time when the government will be under pressure to spend more on support services for the elderly and the disabled.
Dr. Chalmers has been ready to start several “conversations” on tax reform in the interest of maintaining the government’s budget since taking over charge of it last year.
Before being shut down by the prime minister, Dr. Chalmers revealed stage three tax cuts ahead of the October 2022 budget.
The Treasurer remained modest when asked about the halfway point of the parliamentary term and other reforms he was considering implementing ahead of the next election.
“Our focus is bearing down the changes … that we announced in the May budget,” Dr. Chalmers stated.
“We’ve indicated a willingness going forward to make difficult decisions where … necessary to make sure that we can fund the kinds of services in particular that Australians need and deserve as our society changes and evolves.”
He did assert, though, that Australians were “ready” for the government to “take the big issues seriously”.
On Monday, the first draft of the PRRT reforms, which aim to raise $2.4 billion over four years by capping tax offsets at 90% of assessable income, was also made public.
The announcement was portrayed as a test for the Coalition and the Greens by Dr. Chalmers. The minority party has already made it clear that it will advocate for double the money earned through the measures.
“If the Greens want the industry to pay more tax sooner, then they will vote for that legislation, and if the Coalition wants a model that best safeguards international relationships, and they will vote for it as well,” he further continued.
- Published By Team Australia News
