Release: Taxpayers Welcome Perrottet's GST Fair Go for NSW
20/6/2019
The Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance, a 75,000+ member grassroots advocacy group representing the nation’s taxpayers, today backed NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrotett’s push for fairer distribution of GST revenue, to ensure that hardworking NSW taxpayers get a fair go.
“The broken GST distribution system has punished hardworking taxpayers and productive states for too long by forcing us to prop up mismanaged, mendicant state governments who are not willing to reform, and stand on their own two feet.” Said Satya Marar, ATA Director of Policy.
“Treasurer Perrottet’s review of the GST funding arrangements is a welcome revisiting of how our federation can better operate to encourage competition and productive reforms by our state governments which will boost the nation’s economic productivity, create immense opportunities, deter government waste and largesse, and deliver value for taxpayers.
“NSW and Victoria are responsible for raising most of the GST revenue, and need a fairer slice of the pie to cater for their growing populations which have increased stress on infrastructure and public services.
“It’s unfair that these states are forced to subsidise others who either have sufficient revenue-raising capacity of their own or who refuse to enact reforms which would allow them to develop this capacity.
“Queensland, for example, has stood in the way of its own development by discouraging and delaying important projects through red tape. The Northern Territory only recently pushed reforms to liberalise natural gas extraction and make the most of its natural gifts. South Australia received an even bigger share of GST revenue after the 2018 changes, despite harming its own productive capacity through policies which have driven up electricity bills to the highest in the nation. The ACT is just a wasteful, bureaucratic hole. And while WA deserved a fairer share of the pie that it generated during its mining boom, that state also squandered much of its mining boom windfall which could have supported its sustained growth today were it more prudently invested.
“Moving closer to competitive fiscal federalism by allowing states to rely on and keep more of what they themselves generate, is a shrewd recipe for encouraging much-needed reforms which will boost Australian productivity at a time when this is badly needed given the potential of looming negative economic headwinds.”