Opposition questions the Premier about a potential new land tax on households and farms, citing the WA submission to the Henry Tax Review. The Premier denies plans for a new tax and frames the submission as a discussion paper.

AnsweredQoN 476Legislative Assembly
Asked
9 June 2009
Portfolio
Premier

QuestionView source ↗

HENRY TAX REVIEW — GOVERNMENT SUBMISSION
I refer to page 20 of Western Australia’s submission to the review of Australia’s tax system and the Premier’s plan to broaden the land tax base and to hit households and farms across Western Australia with a new tax. (1) Does the Premier support the introduction of such a tax on Western Australian families, their homes and their farms? (2) Does the Premier accept that his new tax proposal will see families slugged with an extra tax bill of more than $700 a year? It is the last dot point on page 20, if the Premier needs to find out what his Treasurer has been up to. (3) How does the Premier justify the radical transformation of the state’s tax policy from one that is based mainly on business transactions in a growing economy to one that relies on subjecting households and individuals to onerous new fees, taxes and charges? Ms A.J.G. MacTiernan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT

AnswerView source ↗

I am an admirer of Maggie Thatcher. She was a wonderful Prime Minister. She saved the UK. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
(1) Does the Premier support the introduction of such a tax on Western Australian families, their homes and their farms? (2) Does the Premier accept that his new tax proposal will see families slugged with an extra tax bill of more than $700 a year? It is the last dot point on page 20, if the Premier needs to find out what his Treasurer has been up to. (3) How does the Premier justify the radical transformation of the state’s tax policy from one that is based mainly on business transactions in a growing economy to one that relies on subjecting households and individuals to onerous new fees, taxes and charges? Ms A.J.G. MacTiernan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I am an admirer of Maggie Thatcher. She was a wonderful Prime Minister. She saved the UK. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
(2) Does the Premier accept that his new tax proposal will see families slugged with an extra tax bill of more than $700 a year? It is the last dot point on page 20, if the Premier needs to find out what his Treasurer has been up to. (3) How does the Premier justify the radical transformation of the state’s tax policy from one that is based mainly on business transactions in a growing economy to one that relies on subjecting households and individuals to onerous new fees, taxes and charges? Ms A.J.G. MacTiernan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I am an admirer of Maggie Thatcher. She was a wonderful Prime Minister. She saved the UK. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
(3) How does the Premier justify the radical transformation of the state’s tax policy from one that is based mainly on business transactions in a growing economy to one that relies on subjecting households and individuals to onerous new fees, taxes and charges? Ms A.J.G. MacTiernan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I am an admirer of Maggie Thatcher. She was a wonderful Prime Minister. She saved the UK. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
Ms A.J.G. MacTiernan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I am an admirer of Maggie Thatcher. She was a wonderful Prime Minister. She saved the UK. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT replied: I am an admirer of Maggie Thatcher. She was a wonderful Prime Minister. She saved the UK. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
I am an admirer of Maggie Thatcher. She was a wonderful Prime Minister. She saved the UK. Mr F.M. Logan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
Mr F.M. Logan interjected. Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
Mr C.J. BARNETT : She did. The only thing she got wrong is the member for Cockburn came out here as a result! We got the people she kicked out! (1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.
(1)-(3) The Henry tax review needs to be understood in context. Ken Henry has been asked by the Prime Minister to look at taxation issues. Every time the federal government has a tax review, it invariably ends up as a review of state taxes, and that is what this is. Treasury has reported. It is basically a discussion about long-term taxation reform. State Treasury has prepared and submitted, through the Treasurer, a point of view on a range of issues. There is no plan to introduce a new tax, as the Leader of the Opposition would suggest. If members opposite are concerned about broad-scale changes to goods and services tax, payroll tax and property tax, all Treasury is doing, through the Treasurer, is putting on the table some conversation points. If this government had plans for a new tax, I can assure this house that I would come into this place and announce it.

Explore WA Government Data

Search the full archive in the free dashboard, or query programmatically via API.

Explore more