17 August 1998 WEL questions whether we should pay more tax Australia needs to pay more tax to ensure adequate public services such as schools, health care, clean air and water, and other essential services. A basic question we should be asking is whether people are prepared to pay more tax to ensure that they have a good basic services that will cater for all Australians. WEL is concerned that taxation is not gender neutral and this needs to be taken into account when discussing any reform to the system.
Women are also more likely to be responsible for dependent children, and to be aged pensioners.
They will therefore be disproportionately disadvantaged by any regressive tax which targets non-discretionary spending. While WEL views the establishment of a task force to discuss taxation reform as a positive step, we are concerned that the terms of reference need to be broad enough to include a range possibilities for raising taxes to make the debate fair and equitable. WEL is concerned that the focus on a GST will narrow essential public debate by limiting it to one regressive option which will inevitably fuel the growing inequalities in wealth distribution in Australia. There are many options for tax reform which need to be brought into the public arena. The Prime Minister's recent announcement that any reform to the tax system should be revenue neutral with a shift to a broad-based consumption tax will means that the rich will pay less tax overall.