Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s plan for states to raise their own income tax came to a screeching halt on Friday after the states and territories could not agree to his proposal in the Council of Australian Governments meeting.
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Turnbull could not reach an agreement with the premiers and chief ministers of Australia’s states and territories for his radical proposal for states to raise their own income tax to fund their services in exchange for the Commonwealth cutting government grants and lowering its income tax rate. He said there was no appetite for the reform but said it was his job to “push the envelope” and to try and lead the reform.
The leaders did, however, agree to consider proposals to share personal income tax revenue with the states, and pursue initiatives for the states to provide real-time data on how government money is spent. Turnbull said the income tax sharing proposal would make it easier for states to access resources and would potentially fix the expensive-to-administer grants scheme.
The states did secure $2.9 billion in funding for hospital services from July 2017 to June 2020, with growth in Commonwealth funding capped at 6.5% each year. Looming large was the $80 billion Commonwealth funding commitment to schools and health made out to 2024-25 by the Gillard government, which was cut in the disastrous 2014 Abbott government budget. Turnbull and the state premiers argued that the agreement had never been funded. WA Premier Colin Barnett, for example:
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Labor leaders, however, argued that it didn’t reverse the decisions of the 2014 budget. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews:
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk:
After Turnbull indicated on Thursday that the Commonwealth government could pull funding from public schools and keep funding private schools, no agreement has been made on Commonwealth funding for schools, which is due to run out at the end of 2017. The Commonwealth has still not committed to the “full Gonski” funding for the remaining two years, Turnbull said:
“We are not wedded to that particular — the ‘full Gonski’, whatever that means. The full Gonski I went to school with in 1967.”
The state leaders again expressed concern that if there was a plan to continue to provide federal funding to private schools but not public schools it would be “detrimental to the nation,” in the words of Palaszczuk. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the issue was “a line in the sand” for the ACT.
The states turning on Turnbull so quickly raised questions on whether the prime minister had suffered a humiliating defeat, but Turnbull told Sky News on Sunday that the states — with the exception of WA — now can no longer ask for more money from the Commonwealth without being willing to take on the responsibility for raising taxes.
“The reality is … if they’re not prepared to make the case to their citizens through their parliament for higher taxes, they cannot seriously or credibly ask us to raise taxes to give money for them to spend.”
Labor is now preparing to campaign on the issue, with Shorten saying over this weekend that Turnbull had commenced a “war” with the states on “double taxation”.
The COAG communique also states the leaders have agreed to more work on indigenous economic development, reducing violence against women and children.
Turnbull announced that the Commonwealth would also draft legislation, in co-operation with the states, to bring on another tranche of national security legislation referred to as post-sentence preventative detention scheme for high-risk terrorist offenders. COAG agreed in principle to develop a nationally consistent scheme for pre-charge detention for terrorism suspects, too, based on the NSW model, but the ACT is reserving its position.
If this was Tony Abbott still in power, we would call this another one of his captain’s picks, Malcolm is just like Tony but smoother in his delivery.
The logic behind the move – I promised I would not increase taxes so I’ll force the states to do it and while the states are happy to spend money they want none of the pain of raising it.
Straw man: States income tax.
Objective: to stop increasing tax for schools and hospitals.
Why: LNP will not do it – see Turnbull interview. Need to shift blame for attrition to States.
SWOT: taxpayers have reached max tax including bracket creep; only companies could fund the increase; pollies must keep companies and big shareholders happy or lose pollie skin; government advisers and technocrats must cover this threat for pollies.
Reality: vast wealth pours out of Australia unchecked while wage and salary earners pay. Country desperately needs skilled workforce and entrepreneurs (ie. 21st century education) and ageing population desperately needs better health care.
Outcome against all odds: the resounding defeat of the States income tax play has consolidated the national and federal responsibility for schools and hospitals and the importance of services, and national unity in service delivery and fiscal policy.
Somewhere, in a quiet backroom, hidden from public eyes, sits the master of innovation, THE Minister for Thought Bubbles.
The minister’s maniacal laughter echoes thorough the corridors of power as fresh bubbles flow from the imaginative mind of this crazed person.
The bubbles are fed to the politicians controlling our nation and presented to the gullable public as yet another brilliant plan.
Oh, what an innovative crew we have running our ship.
What will they do next ?
The mind boggles at the mere thought of the possibilities.
Maybe this cartoon can give us a clue as to what could happen . . . . .
https://cartoonmick.wordpress.com/editorial-political/#jp-carousel-968
Cheers
Mick
No one should doubt that obe of Turnbull’s greatest strengths is the incompetence of those who set out to criticise him but have scant understanding of why so many Australian Citizens know he’s the Nation’s best potential Leader.
Turnbull is trying to use his Goldman Sachs wedge techniques which might be appropriate when it’s a commercial standoff but he’s dealing with the nations health and education outcomes here..where’ the plans..the latest offering wasn’t even a thought bubble..