Page 2245 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 9 May 2012
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
In relation to the principles of effective taxation mentioned in the review and the motion, these are well accepted and are a sound basis upon which to evaluate taxation. They are set out in the review as the criteria against which taxes and charges were assessed and recommendations for reform made.
On tax more generally, the motion notes that the review builds on the Henry tax review. The Greens think that the review had much to offer for the states as well as the commonwealth. The Greens supported a large number of the Henry review recommendations. We are disappointed that a number of the recommendations, such as the mining tax, were not fully implemented.
I would like to briefly talk about some of the other recommendations in the review. Firstly, I go to payroll tax. This is a problematic tax. It is or it is not efficient, depending on your perspective. Overall, we support the initiative to reduce payroll tax and think that reducing it is a good initiative to make Canberra a more attractive place to do business. I note that the Canberra Business Council welcomed that move.
I will take the opportunity to again state our position in support of the lease variation charge as a fair and efficient tax. We believe that it should be used as part of a package to lever better development in our city. This is something that we will continue pursuing. There is some work we are expecting to get back from government.
Again, for the record, let me say that we support pay parking in the parliamentary triangle. We also agree that we should be considering the taxes imposed on gambling machines. Members will recall that the Greens proposed an increase in the mandatory problem gambling contribution. We do not think that we effectively recover the costs of problem gambling from those who profit from it.
In relation to the abolition of the insurance levy, I have to say that I have not had the opportunity to thoroughly consider this. In principle, it appears that there are some reasonable arguments for the proposal. We will be giving this further consideration.
The motion calls on the government to implement structural reform. Subject to discussions about the exact nature of the changes, the Greens are happy to support that call. Equally, the Greens are happy to agree that such significant reforms should be measured and staged to allow for a reasonable transition time.
This is the start of a long process, one that will involve significant interaction with the commonwealth, which we have to expect can only slow the process down. I am sure we will be talking about this for some time to come.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the members of the review panel and the secretariat who supported them.
I am confident that this research will prove to be useful for many years to come. Considerable consideration and research did go into this review. That needs to be acknowledged. What has been put on the table is significant. It will be a significant change to the way that the territory collects taxes. But I think that it is time we had
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video