Australians are game for a hike in GST - provided Stamp Duty Goes

By Vijay Kumar

A survey report released today finds that Australians are ready for a hike in GST from the present 10% to 12.5% as a trade-off for income tax cuts or the abolition of stamp duties.

The Survey found:

++ Nine out of ten Australians surveyed supported tax reform which made the system simpler and fairer.

++ Nearly three quarters (72%) of Australians believed it was inevitable that GST will rise over the next decade, while only two per cent believed it would definitely not rise.

++ Most believed the GST is a fair tax because it was one that could not be dodged.

++ Stamp duty on the other hand is considered the most unfair tax of all with most Australians agreeing that it was now a major barrier to buying a home.

++ Three-quarters of Australians also agree that stamp duty is driving up home prices and making it unaffordable for young people to own their own home. Over two thirds of the community (70%) support the idea of abolishing stamp duty.

++ Australians believe overwhelmingly (71%) that the level of tax on people's homes is too high. Reducing the level of tax on people's homes is considered a higher priority than reducing the rate of personal income tax.

++ Over two thirds (70%) of people supported the abolition of stamp duty, with the concept of reforming the GST to pay for stamp duty abolition also receiving strong support.

Australia has a federal system of governance, but there is only one GST for the whole country. The GST collections are distributed among the federal and state governments and there are lot of disputes on the distribution system.