The only way is up – for taxes under Labor that is
24th December, 2009
The Australian people have been delivered a ticking tax time-bomb for Christmas in the form of the Henry Tax Review, said the Leader of The Nationals, Warren Truss.“Now that Labor has failed to get its Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme tax through the Parliament, they are desperate to find new ways to increase their tax take,” Mr Truss said.
“Among the new taxes that are being considered are a new road user tax based on the distance cars, trucks and buses travel, which will slug hard the transport sector and regional families in particular. City people won’t get off lightly either – a congestion charge for urban motorists is also expected.
“The reintroduction of death duties or an inheritance tax, as once favoured by Finance Minister Lindsay Tanner, have not been ruled out. Superannuation is likely to cop a big hit affecting its attractiveness.
“Labor will as per usual paint me as a scaremonger for my comments. But the proof of this very rancid pudding is the fact that the Rudd Government is refusing to release the review until late March at the earliest.
“And there has never been a Labor Government yet which has reduced taxes. The one thing we know for certain is that the Henry Review will mean higher taxes for Australians.
“The truth of the matter is that the Treasurer and other senior government figures have been well aware for some time of the contents of this report, as evidenced by a number of strategic media leaks.
“So why not release the report now? The reality is that the Government is trying to hide the release until after the South Australian state election on 20 March, as a mooted new national resource rent tax will go down very badly for the Labor state government there.
“Of course, having a look at and improving the tax system are not necessarily bad things. But you have to look to Labor’s record on tax – and it isn’t pretty.
“The Rudd Labor Government blew the hard-won debt-free position left to it by the previous Coalition government, and has run up more than $150 billion in debt. The government is now looking for new ways to tax to get it out of the giant hole it has dug for us all.
“The longer the Government keeps the Henry Tax Review secret, the greater the concerns about its contents will grow,” Mr Truss said.
