Cameron issues challenge to government to raise taxes
by: PATRICIA KARVELAS
From: The Australian
March 25, 2013
LEFT wing Labor Senator Doug Cameron has declared the Gillard Government must raise a range of taxes and stop seeing it as a "badge of honour" to have a lower tax to GDP ratio than the Howard Government.
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Senator Cameron has challenged his party's leadership to tax super contributions of higher income earners at a higher rate, crack down on trusts, raise the mining tax, and introduce other taxes to pay for social welfare initiatives.
The Senator says we have a low tax to GDP ratio and the Government needs to increase it by 0.7 per cent.
"I can't understand why it's a badge of honour for a Labor government to have a lower tax to GDP ratio than the Howard Government."
"A mere 0.7 per cent increase in the ratio of tax to GDP would raise sufficient ratio for us to realise our aspirations to be a good society".
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He said even if we did increase the taxation share we would still mean we would be the fifth lowest taxing country in the OECD.
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"It is high time we withdrew from what seems like some sort of international virility contest where those who tax the least win regardless of the cost to the social fabric."
"My party should change its position on increasing the Newstart Allowance"
He said the Federal Budget contains "waste."
On top of raising the mining tax which he argues is not making enough money, he says a range of taxes should be hiked.
He says he backed a "financial transaction tax" which European countries are introducing.
"Many countries in Europe are implementing a modest financial transaction tax which has the potential to raise a significant amount of revenue for a government."
He said "private discretionary trusts" are being used by high wealth individuals to minimise tax and conceal assets.
He also wants a superannuation tax crackdown to fund his big social spending initiatives including Gonski and a Newstart increase.
"I think the time has come for a reappraisal of the tax concessions which arguably act as a device to minimise the personal income tax of high wealth individuals. Many of these tax concessions are deeply entrenched and will be politically difficult to get rid of."
Senator Cameron argues that politicians, including those on his side of politics, have not experienced "poverty" and "deprivation."
"Here we are in 2013 with still far too many children living in poverty."
"Some in the political class try to convince themselves that Newstart is a temporary allowance."