Page 3218 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 21 August 2019
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This is a nasty government. It is a government that has forgotten about its base. It is a government that is abusing its position by gouging so many Canberra families. These increases have to stop.
MR BARR (Kurrajong—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Social Inclusion and Equality, Minister for Tertiary Education, Minister for Tourism and Special Events and Minister for Trade, Industry and Investment) (10.17): I move the amendment circulated in my name:
In paragraph (1), omit all text after “notes”, substitute:
“(a) that, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the ACT’s tax per capita is in line with the national average and significantly lower than New South Wales and Victoria;
(b) the financial volatility experienced in other Australian states and territories which has led to multi-billion-dollar budget write-downs as a result of shortfalls in stamp duty revenue caused by the boom and bust cycle of the Australian property market;
(c) the recommendation contained in the final report of the Australia’s Future Tax System Review—informally known as the Henry Tax Review—for Australian states and territories to undertake a tax-mix switch away from inefficient taxes such as stamp duty to more efficient broad-based taxes;
(d) that the ACT Government is currently undertaking such a tax-mix switch through its 20-year tax reform agenda, which is designed to create stability in the ACT Budget and avoid the financial volatility experienced in other Australian jurisdictions; and
(e) that the heaviest lifting of this reform process has now been achieved and the rate of growth in rates will now begin to slow as the ACT Government moves towards the next five-year phase of tax reform;
(2) further notes that the ACT Government and the Legislative Assembly each have an obligation to put the best interests of Canberrans first; and
(3) calls on the ACT Government to continue putting Canberrans first by maintaining its focus on raising revenue in a way that is responsible and ensures the ACT Government is able to continue delivering the public service and infrastructure needs of a growing Canberra.”.
The amendment substitutes all words after “(1) notes” and inserts a series of facts in relation to ACT taxation and the volatility that has been experienced in other states and territories as a result of an undue reliance on the worst tax levy by state and territory governments, being stamp duty; highlights the recommendations contained in the Australian future tax system review undertaken earlier this decade, the ACT’s progress through a tax-mix switch over a 20-year period and that the most significant elements of that reform have now been completed; and notes that the ACT government will maintain its focus on raising revenue in a way that is responsible and ensures that the territory government is able to continue delivering the public services and infrastructure that our city needs.
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