NSW needs to lead the charge on reforming GST share-out
Predicting what will come out of the GST distribution methodology is like cracking the Enigma code. But small states have a vested interest in keeping the status quo.
The carve-up of GST revenue among the states is never likely to be a barbecue stopper (except perhaps in Perth), but it occasionally hits the headlines – as it did last week, thanks to the Commonwealth Grants Commission’s (CGC) latest recommendations.
There are winners and losers from these updates every year, and this time NSW and Queensland are the losers. The NSW premier is livid and demands a shift to states’ population shares (equal per capita in the jargon) as the basis for distribution.
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Robert Carling is a Senior fellow at the Centre for Independent Studies, and a former IMF and federal and state Treasury economist.
