NSW Health Minister Ryan Park has broadsided the Albanese government for its inaction over illicit tobacco and blamed the federal excise for distorting the market.
As a smoker Mike Egan would probably try to bring some common sense about the cost of cigarettes. If not Mike, Late Johno Johnson certainly would make few waves. The former Treasurer Mike Egan was also a real fighter when it came to the Commonwealth Grants Commission biases
'GST is busted': call for fairer slices of revenue pie
NSW emerges as main loser from GST carve-up as WA gets extra $5.5bn
The move that would give NSW an extra $3.2b a year
The NSW government has staked its claim to an extra $3.2 billion in GST revenue with a plan to rewrite how the national revenue haul is divided between the states to make it based on population size.
After a horror GST carve-up result for NSW, Australia’s most populous state has asked for a per person distribution and made a direct attack on the sweetheart deal with Western Australiathat is on track to drain more than $60 billion from Commonwealth coffers over a decade.
NSW wants the GST carve-up to be determined on a per person basis. Fiona Bianchinotti
The distribution system proposed by NSW in a submission to the Productivity Commission review of the GST would net the state an extra $3.2 billion each year.
The submission suggested that if consensus on its proposal is lacking, then the current GST floor of 75¢ in the dollar should be lowered to 50¢, another move that could disadvantage Western Australia.
The Commonwealth Grants Commission announced on March 13 that NSW would receive just 82¢ for every dollar notionally paid by its citizens in GST, meaning it would receive $1.4 billion less than Victoria despite having 1.5 million more people.
Victoria will receive $1.06 for every $1 of GST estimated to be paid in the state based on its population, down from $1.07 last year.
NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said the current system is “busted” and that since he started campaigning for GST reform, “every state and territory except Western Australia has slammed this broken system”.
“NSW carries the federation all by itself. Other rich and wealthy states aren’t doing their bit to help smaller states and territories like the ACT, Tasmania and the Northern Territory,” he said.
“Even worse, NSW taxpayers have seen more of their money put to work fixing the budgets of Western Australia and Victoria, than their own.
“The whole of the federation would be better off if we allocated the GST by population share, with the federal government using their balance sheet to prop up the smaller jurisdictions.”
The South Australian government submitted that only Western Australia was better off from the 2018 reforms, reaping an extra $17 billion in GST over its first four years of operation, or $6000 per resident of the state.
“Conversely, all other states are collectively over $14 billion worse off on an underlying basis (that is, before the Commonwealth no worse off guarantee).”
In its submission, the Cook Labor government in Western Australia argued to preserve the 2018 reforms which put in place the 75¢ GST floor. Even after the 2018 reforms, it said Western Australia paid “more than its fair share to the Australian federation, the national economy, and the Commonwealth Budget”.
“Relative to our population share, Western Australia still provides a GST subsidy to the other states and territories of around $2.5 billion per year – the largest per capita GST subsidy of any state.”
