Release: Senate Economics Committee seeks to ban cash despite evidence

Release: Senate Economics Committee seeks to ban cash despite evidence

The Australian Taxpayers Alliance, the nation's largest grassroots advocacy group representing taxpayers, today condemned the Senate Economics Committee’s recommendation on Friday in favour of the Currency (Restrictions on the Use of Cash) Bill 2019. 

“Cash is legal tender in Australia. No one should face jail time for making legal transactions in legal tender,” said ATA Policy Director, Emilie Dye. “The proposed changes to the cash ban bill simply stuff a wolf into grandma’s clothes and purport to make up for some pretty nasty teeth.”

“The additional time for businesses to adjust to the cash ban will help some, but it doesn’t make a bad bill any better.

“This bill is nothing more than a bone for big banks. While few of us regularly make transactions over $10,000 in cash, the legal ability to do so forces banks to keep on their best behaviour. Fees can only get so high and interest so low before rational Australians start pulling their money from the bank, storing money under the proverbial bed, and making more transactions in cash.”

“To make a bad bill worse, someone ‘forgot’ to tie the cash limit to inflation effectively dumping Australians in an economic trash compactor. The black economy taskforce has stated that they would prefer a lower limit and our politicians have set Australia up to get just that.

“The European Commission has already found a $10,000 cash ban will fail to reduce money laundering, tax evasion, or terrorism. Someone laundering drug money isn’t going to think twice about a two year jail sentence for making cash transactions over $10,000. The Senate Economics Committee has decided to reduce economic freedom in Australia for no observable benefit.”