FSC statement on the tax white paper

The Financial Services Council has welcomed the Tax White Paper as a “long awaited review of Australia’s tax system which must be supported by business and the broader community”.

Sally Loane, CEO of the FSC said: “The Tax White Paper gives Australians the opportunity to tackle some of the most important economic reforms to take us into the next decades.”

“We fully support broad and sensible tax reform,” Ms Loane said. “The mandate NSW voters gave Premier Mike Baird over the weekend shows that people are more than willing to back well-explained economic reform.”

“The tax review must be thorough, considered and everything should be on the table. It is no longer viable to rely so heavily on personal and corporate income tax to foot the bill for public services.”

“Issues which are being fiercely contested in the public arena right now such as the family home, tax treatment of superannuation, the pension assets and income tests, personal and company tax rates, the GST and capital gains, all should be considered in the review.”

“While these are all tightly held, they need to be part of the review if Australia is to truly reform its tax system and ensure it is efficient and effective relative to other countries in the region.”

“Our high level of company tax and inefficient state taxes are all reducing Australia’s competitiveness as a place to do business.”

Ms Loane also said: “The financial services industry, which is growing at six per cent per annum and is the largest industry sector in the Australian economy, is more than willing to help formulate policy and advocate for this important next tranche of reform of our tax system.”

“The recent release of the Intergenerational Report and now the Tax White Paper provide the basis for a strong national debate centred on how our tax system can and must deliver fairer and better outcomes for our aging community,” she said.

“Our view is that tax reform and a quality national retirement outcomes policy must be considered in tandem.”

“It’s clear from Australia’s demographics and the budget that the status quo is no longer an option.”