FED: Political stumbles in GST saga

AAP General News (Australia)
04-30-1999
FED: Political stumbles in GST saga

By Steve Connolly

CANBERRA, April 30 AAP - If Australia gets a new tax system, it won't be due to the Howard
government's political wizardry.

Since launching its GST reforms last August, the government has been guilty of several
political gaffes.

Its latest blunder in granting GST concessions to casinos was a golden gift to critics of
the tax package.

Welfare agencies rebuffed by the government over calls to exempt food from the GST and on
boosting compensation wasted little time in firing out angry news releases.

"The government's approach to looking after the interests of the majority of citizens is
now apparent," said the Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission.

"They are not interested in exempting food from the GST or increasing the proposed miserly
compensation measures. Instead, Australians can eat the crumbs from the gaming tables."

Although hapless Assistant Treasurer Rod Kemp argued there were no benefits for casinos from
the concession to exempt GST from the losses of high rollers, the timing of the amendment was
unhelpful with the Senate in the thick of debate on tax.

The fate of the GST is in the hands of independent senators Brian Harradine and Mal
Colston.

Those two veterans of the Senate are under enormous pressure from the various interest
groups in the GST debate, particularly those seeking a better deal for pensioners and low
income earners.

So revelations that the government is kowtowing to the wishes of Melbourne's Crown Casino
and businessman Ron Walker on an aspect of its GST legislation does little for its tax cause.

There's been many other examples of poor political decisions in the six months or so since
the GST was launched.

Although it claimed its narrow October federal election win was a mandate for tax reform,
the government was reluctant to have the Senate scrutinise the GST package.

Plenty of embarrassing blows to the merits of the tax package were landed on the GST during
evidence to the Senate inquiry, including its impact on charities and volunteer organisations
such as surf lifesavers.

Throughout the inquiry Treasurer Peter Costello and welfare groups refused to agree on
whether the tax package was fair for the poor.

Mr Costello insisted it was. Agencies such as the Australian Council of Social Service were
convinced many Australians would be worse off.

The Treasurer's argument has not been advanced by his punt on casinos.

AAP sc/cjh

KEYWORD: TAX BLUNDERS (NEWS ANALYSIS)

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