Child Protection

Tax cuts should fund welfare says ACOSS

In its appearance today before the Senate Economics Committee's Inquiry into Australia's Taxation System, Australia Council of Social Services (ACOSS) argued that tax loopholes benefiting top income earners should be closed in order to fund

ACOSS President Andrew McCallum said today:

"Over the next 40 years, the cost to Government of health and aged care services for an ageing population is projected to rise by at least $14 billion in current dollars.

"These and other services can be adequately funded without raising regressive taxes like the GST, or increasing income tax rates. The solution is to close down the unfair and costly tax loopholes and shelters that benefit high income-earners."

"A good start would be to remove negative gearing tax breaks for investments in property, shares and collectibles. This would yield $2 billion in extra tax revenue and helping take the heat out of the
property market."

"Australia should be investing more in basic services, not cutting taxes and services to the bone. The Premiers are getting the message, but Canberra is caught in a time warp. It harks back to the days of high inflation, when big revenue gains and tax cuts could be financed
out of the proceeds of tax bracket creep."

"The bracket creep argument has lost its teeth in the era of low-inflation. Concerns over large numbers of people being pushed into the top tax bracket by bracket-creep are exaggerated. Less than 20% of workers earn more than $60,000 and only 25% of families have incomes higher than this."

"Debate in Canberra over taxation is being conducted in a political version of Never-Never Land. This is a place where taxes Always fall and Never rise, yet services Always improve and are Never cut back.
Tax-payers might dream of such a place, but they no longer believe it exists,"

"The public response to this year's Federal Budget shows that most people know that tax cuts can only be paid for by cutting services or raising fees and charges for basic community services."

"The public would rather increased public investment in key areas of basic services which are under pressure and in decline:

* Only a lucky few children receive a head-start from pre-school education, public schools are starved of funds, and higher education is increasingly a luxury for the well off;

* The universal safety net provided by Medicare is being stripped way;

* Family Tax Benefits and Youth Allowances are too low to save children in jobless families from poverty;

"Australia is a low taxing country that can ill afford another round of tax cuts. Of the 30 OECD countries, only Ireland, the US, Japan, Mexico and South Korea collect less tax overall."

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© 2001 Community & Public Sector Union - State Public Services Federation (CPSU-SPSF) - National Office

http://www.cpsu-spsf.asn.au/latest_news/child_protection/20030729_community.html
Last Modified: 15 Nov 2005