Page 1557 - Week 05 - Tuesday, 14 May 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
So insurance taxes have been abolished: nearly $100 million of revenue annually. Around $100 million it would be now if we had a 10 per cent tax on all insurance products—
Mr Wall interjecting—
MADAM SPEAKER: Mr Wall!
MR BARR: Stamp duty has been significantly reduced for every property in the territory, including its abolition on commercial transactions below $1.5 million. And we have lifted, and further lifted, the payroll tax-free threshold. So we have a choice. We can tax land, labour or capital. Land is the only area where people cannot easily avoid tax. It is the most simple, fairest and most efficient way to raise revenue at a state or territory level.
That is why we are phasing out stamp duty, why we have abolished insurance taxes and why we have lifted the payroll tax-free threshold in order to have a simpler, fairer and more efficient tax system for the ACT, utilising the tax line that is most efficient for this jurisdiction. (Time expired.)
MR PARTON: Treasurer, how much more will rates revenue increase over the life of your tax reform program?
MR BARR: The future increases in both residential and commercial rates have been outlined in the budget papers. They are between about six and seven per cent annually and coming down each year. The most significant part of tax reform, the heaviest lifting, occurred in the first five years, as we were simultaneously abolishing insurance taxes, reducing stamp duty and increasing the payroll tax-free threshold. From here we will announce a further five-year phase of tax reform in the next couple of years to see through the third phase. In that phase you will see the rate of increase continue to taper off as we move into the second half of the tax reform. But the heaviest lifting has been undertaken already as we abolished insurance tax, as we have been reducing stamp duties and as we have been lifting the payroll tax-free threshold.
It is that reform of our taxation system that has seen the ACT have nation-leading rates of economic growth. We have continued to see very strong population growth in the ACT. People are voting with their feet. There are more people living in the ACT now than prior to the reforms, more taxpayers in the ACT, and that growth in the tax base has also been a significant contributing factor to the increase in the overall tax take. A broader tax base and a fairer tax system are what we are working towards. That is what economists recommend for our level of government. That is what the Henry tax review recommended. That is what your former leader Malcolm Turnbull said was the right tax reform for our jurisdiction. (Time expired.)
Public housing—renewal program
MS LE COUTEUR: My question is to the Minister for Housing and Suburban Development and relates to the plan for growing and renewing public housing. Which
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video