Labor Party raking in $700,000 from taxpayer funded parliamentary levy to build election war chest

THE Labor Party is now charging its senior MPs almost $11,000 a year simply for the privilege of being in Parliament. And you’re paying for it.

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IT is the secret taxpayer-funded levy that will have people fuming.

The Labor Party is now charging its senior MPs almost $11,000 a year simply for the privilege of being in Parliament. And it is being largely bankrolled out of the Federal budget.

An invoice from the NSW Labor head office to Labor shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen, obtained by The Daily Telegraph online, has revealed that his bill for the last financial year was a whopping $10,839.90.

Labor’s shadow ministry is now netting almost $200,000 a year alone in what has become a tax deductible political cash cow.

Billed...Invoice from NSW Labor head office to Labor Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen

Labor leader Bill Shorten is arguing that foreign donations to political parties be banned.

And with 14 new MPs and an extra Senator following the election, the Labor Party is estimated to be now raking in $700,000 from the taxpayer funded “parliamentary levy” so it can build its next election war chest.

With Labor leader Bill Shorten arguing that foreign donations to political parties be banned, the amounts Labor is hauling in from the taxpayer for every MP in some cases have almost doubled over the past 10 years.

Labor MPs are required to pay between four and six per cent of their salary, depending on the state, as a parliamentary levy.

Mr Bowen told The Telegraph there was nothing unusual about the payments and he was comfortable making them.

“Both major parties have parliamentary levies and the levy is coming out of personal salary,’’ he said.

But not all politicians pay the bill

Liberal Democrats senator David Leyonhjelm said he refused to pay his party’s levy, which has annual fees of $5000. Despite not paying the levy he remains the only Liberal Democrat in the federal parliament.

Former NSW state Labor treasurer Michael Costa had previously strongly argued for the levy to be capped so it could not increase.

The Liberal Party also imposed a levy on their MPs, although multiple MPs said it was a far lower percentage than the Labor Party.