Greens snub Burnside over death tax push

Star Greens candidate Julian Burnside has been left isolated by his new political party in his push to reintroduce a “death tax” on the estates of dead Australians.

Star Greens candidate Julian Burnside has been left isolated by his new political party in his push to reintroduce a “death tax” on the estates of dead Australians.

The party yesterday distanced itself from Mr Burnside’s advocacy to tax the deceased estates, which would rip hundreds of thousands of dollars away from family inheritances.

The prominent Melbourne barrister and human rights campaigner is attempting to unseat federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in the seat of Kooyong in Melbourne’s inner-eastern suburbs.

A spokesman for Greens Leader Richard Di Natale told the Herald Sun yesterday a death tax was not a party policy and it would not be campaigning on the issue at the next federal election.

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Greens candidate for Kooyong Julian Burnside and Greens leader Richard Di Natale.

A “death tax”, abolished by all Australian states and territories by the early 1980s, is still in place in many countries, including Britain, the United States, France and Japan.

It would potentially hit families in the leafy suburbs of Hawthorn, Kew, Balwyn, Canterbury and Camberwell hard — where the median house price is about $2 million.

About 40 per cent of its residents were listed in the 2016 census as “professionals”, almost double the nationwide average of 22 per cent.

About 33 per cent of residents have a weekly household gross income of more than $3000, again double the national average of 16.4 per cent.

Almost 40 per cent of residents own their own home in the electorate while about 28 per cent have a mortgage.

In Britain a 40 per cent tax is applied by the government on the property, money and possessions of the deceased above a threshold of $600,000.

It can be avoided by leaving everything above the threshold to a spouse, civil partner, a charity or a community amateur sports club.

The threshold is raised to about $800,000 if a will gives away the family home to their children or grandchildren.

Senator Di Natale once flagged the idea of a return to a former Greens policy two years ago, which then excluded family homes, family farms and other owner-occupied residences.

Mr Burnside said on Tuesday “death taxes” had been “part of the political landscape in Australia” until scrapped by former Queensland premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen.

“When I’m dead, I don’t care,” he said. “If having a good house means that I can contribute a bit more to reducing the deficit, and maybe does something towards combating climate change, that’s good,” he said.

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