Reforms do not include GST change: Cormann

Raising the GST is not part of the Morrison government’s post-COVID-19 recovery reforms, Finance Minister insists.

Raising the GST rate will not be part of the Morrison government’s reforms in a post-COVID-19 recovery, Finance Minister Mathias Cormann insists.

While media reports suggest NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet wants to pursue a lift in the 10 per cent GST rate to be able to get rid of less efficient taxes, Senator Cormann says the government is about lowering taxes, not raising them.

“When it comes to the GST, we did have a very thorough look at this not that long ago and the outcome of that work at time was, that it wasn’t in our interest to move in that direction,” he told Sky News’ Sunday agenda program.

“At this stage, I haven’t seen anything that would change my mind.”

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg confirmed last week that Australia was in recession for the first time in 29 years, thanks to the impact of the enforced coronavirus restrictions.

Meanwhile, Senator Cormann has also blasted thousands of protesters for “recklessly” attending mass Black Lives Matter demonstrations across the country yesterday, in defiance of health advice.

It’s quite irresponsible what we’ve seen there,” Senator Cormann told Sky News on Sunday.

“As I think about the heartbreak of families who haven’t been able to attend funerals for their loved ones because they were doing the right thing by taking the health advice, my heart just goes out to them. I mean, as they see people going recklessly to these sorts of demonstrations, that must be just awful for them to watch.

“I think it is incredibly selfish. It’s incredibly self indulgent. And yes, it does impose unnecessary and unacceptable risk on to the community.”

Labor’s deputy leader Richard Marles said Senator Cormann’s criticism was “tone deaf”, but he agreed the idea of mass gatherings in a pandemic made him “uncomfortable”.

“This is a vexed issue,” Mr Marles told the ABC on Sunday.

“Certainly, I had concerns about such a mass gathering in the middle of a pandemic, and I used my voice in the lead-up to the protests to make that point.

“Now, I don’t feel like I’m in a position to say to Indigenous Australians who are protesting against that, that this is a selfish and indulgent act. I felt uncomfortable about the mass gathering but I’m not about to engage in that kind of judgement of those who did it.”

With AAP