Mr Bowen’s attack was part of Labor’s multi-pronged
assault on the government, with families
spokeswoman Jenny Macklin also hitting out at Joe
Hockey after he appealed for women to return to the
workforce “for the sake of the future of the
Australian economy’’. Ms Macklin said his comments
ignored the government’s plans to cut family tax
benefits, including removing families from Family
Tax Benefit Part B when their youngest child turns
six, changes to childcare and ending the practice of
double-dipping of paid parental leave. “Mr Hockey is
treating women like fools,’’ Ms Macklin said.
The government wants to tackle the challenge of
bracket creep, where increased wages lift workers
into higher tax brackets, which acts as a
disincentive to increasing working hours.
The government is using its tax white paper process
to look at both the top end of the income scale —
where high tax rates are choking entrepreneurialism
and work incentives — and at the interaction of
taxes and welfare benefits lower down the income
scale, which can impact on women’s workforce
participation.
Senator Cormann said the government wanted to
improve the tax system to facilitate growth and job
creation, and that meant improving the tax mix. “The
overall objective is to raise the necessary revenue
for government in the most efficient way possible,
in the least distorting way in the economy possible,
and in a way that doesn’t undermine our capacity to
grow the economy,’’ he said.
Asked whether the government was looking at changes
to the GST, Senator Cormann said: “There is a
conversation to be had, and we’ve always said in
relation to the GST that we would want to see a
broad community consensus and a broad political
consensus in the context of any such reform. But
certainly the conversation so far has been
encouraging.’’
NSW Premier Mike Baird welcomed Senator Cormann’s
comments. “They reflect the NSW position that an
increase in GST, with targeted tax cuts to
quarantine the majority of families from the effect,
is the best way to secure the future of our health
services. This solution addresses the cumulative
deficits looming for the Commonwealth and the
states, while improving the overall competitiveness
of the economy.”
Source:
The Australian, dated 31/08/2015. |