Westpac CEO Peter King lends support to calls for tax reform
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The news: Westpac CEO Peter King has also backed a reconsideration of key elements of the tax system when speaking in front of the committee on Thursday afternoon.
King specifically said that there was too much dependence on income tax rather than other components of the tax system, such as wealth and consumption taxes.
What they said: "Tax reform is always hard. There's been many papers written about it over time. We're probably as a country too dependent on income tax ... consumption taxes could probably do a little harder work," King said.
He added that "how we think about assets and wealth" was another area.
“Good luck to the Parliament on that one,” he said, to laughter.
Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn backs higher wealth taxes
The news: Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn has backed tax reform including increasing the amount of tax charged on wealth rather than income. Comyn acknowledged it would be “difficult” but said it was “time” for critical structural reform to help drive prosperity and productivity.
The numbers: A new report this week from Anglicare, called Widening the Gap, found the richest Australians hold 90 times the wealth of the poorest. Capital gains tax concessions, negative gearing and superannuation concessions that help the wealthiest were blamed for fuelling the gap between the most and least wealthy.
The context: Comyn was speaking at a public hearing in Canberra in front of the House of Representatives economics committee, which is tasked with regularly looking into the big four banks.
Earlier in the day, Comyn expressed his concerns about how customers were faring during the cost-of-living crisis and higher interest rates, saying there had been numerous shocks and many had spent down their savings buffers. He hit back at any suggestion that big corporate profits, such as those experienced by the major banks, are contributing to the issue.
What they said: “I think we’re over-relying on income [taxes]. I don’t think we’re taxing wealth as heavily as we could. I think it’s part of a broader structural issue that needs to be addressed. I understand that the changes are always very unpopular,” Comyn said.
“I think the tax system at the moment is not as efficient, simple and fair as it could be.”
The source: Parliament House Public Hearing
