HERE'S a surprising fact:
Tony Abbott's paid parental leave plan will hit more companies than the carbon tax.
Surprised? Consider the numbers.
Julia Gillard's carbon tax will be paid by 500 of the nation's biggest polluters.
Abbott's maternity leave tax levy of 1.5 per cent would hit an estimated 3300 businesses.
Isn't that a
great big new tax
coincidence?
Labor has rushed to slam Abbott's "Richie Rich" program for wealthy working mums, who'd get a taxpayer-funded "wage" for six months, up to an eye-watering $75,000 for women on $150,000 a year.
Less attention, however, has been paid to the size of the Abbott scheme and the potential cost impacts for consumers.
Would a 1.5 per cent paid parental leave tax on electricity generators, for example, drive up power bills? By how much?
Would Woolworths and Coles lift the price of milk and bread?
Is it possible that some low-emission, high-profit companies such as banks and retailers could actually pay more up front under Abbott's parental leave plan than the carbon tax? Wouldn't that be a hoot.
If the Coalition argues it's a modest impact, how does that stack up with their claims the carbon tax will be catastrophic? And what if Abbott is elected but a hostile Greens-dominated Senate blocks him from axing the carbon tax?
Would companies be forced to pay both the $5 billion carbon tax and the $3 billion paid parental leave levy?
The carbon tax is estimated to raise $25 billion over three years, including about $7.6 billion in year one.
Bear in mind Abbott's $3 billion parental scheme contains no cost-of-living compensation, whereas the carbon tax is set to compensate Australians with $5 billion in tax cuts and welfare payments.
The Coalition plan would see taxpayers spend $4.5 billion per year on parental leave, covered by a 1.5 per cent levy on businesses with taxable incomes over $5 million a year.
There are also savings from rolling in the baby bonus scheme and
family tax payments
and replacing Labor's scheme.
Don't get me wrong. It was high time low and middle income women had access to a paid maternity scheme.
Abbott's scheme is more generous for many families than Labor's 18-week minimum wage scheme _ and there are great arguments for parental leave being a workplace entitlement, not a welfare cheque.
But if you think
it's cheeky for Abbott to slag the carbon tax while introducing his very own $3 billion parental leave levy
on business, you are not Robinson Crusoe.
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