The Business Council of Australia has warned that Australia is rapidly becoming a "laughing stock" in global investment circles because of new taxes on banks as erratic decisions by both federal and state governments "carelessly undermine" the rules of doing business.

Australia's big four banks are furious about the move by the South Australian government to impose a new state-based version of the federal government's major bank levy, while the broader business community warned it was partly the fault of the Turnbull government for "letting the genie out of the bottle" in the first place.