Mr Carmody also attacked the opposition for turning tax into a political football. The Access report emphasised that Victoria had a very inefficient tax system. Worse, they were often applied on top of each other. For example, general insurance faced three taxes - FSL, GST and stamp duty. These compounded the total tax burden on basic premiums up to 84per cent, putting Victoria at the top of the tax table.
Stamp duties are bad taxes.
Access found that generally, stamp duties and FSL were among the most inefficient taxes. Australia-wide, land taxes were pretty bad, even on average. The third key recommendation of the Harvey committee was to cut the payroll tax rate and pay for it by increasing gambling taxes or reducing the budget surplus. The government will unveil its response to the Harvey committee business tax package when it brings down the budget on May 15. The Age Company Ltd 2001.