MEDIA RELEASE: New salesman, same regressive GST policy

Reports today Malcolm Turnbull is planning to hike the GST to 15 per cent show that while the salesman has changed, the bad policies the Government is trying to sell have not.

Before the last election Tony Abbott promised “no change to to the GST”, and whether it’s now or in 12 months time, Malcolm Turnbull is planning to break that promise.

Tony Abbott didn’t get a chance to break every single promise he made the night before the election, so Malcolm Turnbull is finishing the job.

In their first Budget Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey attacked the household budgets of millions of Australians. Now Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison are doing the same.

Any change to the GST will always be regressive - the impact will disproportionately hit lower and middle income households.

According to Curtin University’s economics centre, the average Australian household will be hit by up to $4,000 a year, before health care, school fees and fresh food are even included.

Malcolm Turnbull is making a choice to focus on a tax on lower and middle income households rather than address high income superannuation concessions and multinational tax avoidance. 

Consumer confidence is still 12 per cent lower than at the 2013 Federal Election and now Malcolm Turnbull wants to hit households with thousands of dollars a year in additional tax.

If Malcolm Turnbull wants to take a hike in the GST and another massive hit to household budgets of millions of Australians to the next election, Labor is up for the fight.

NOVEMBER 01, 2015