News
$700 million budget blackhole |
Friday, 13 March 2009
Kevin Foley’s budget blackhole has deepened with South Australia’s share of GST revenue falling by more than $700 million over the next two years.
Commonwealth Grants Commission data details the latest plunge, which has left the Rann Government’s Budget further in the red.
And the data confirms that under the Rann Government, South Australia is the harshest taxing State in the nation.
Shadow Finance Minister Steven Griffiths said South Australia had lost $289 million in forecast GST revenue between the Budget last year and the Mid Year Budget Review in December.
“Now we learn that South Australia stands to lose a further $155 million in GST revenue this financial year and $264 million next year,” Mr Griffiths said. “Kevin Foley’s budget blackhole has now got $708 million bigger.
“The Treasurer must explain what services will be cut, what extra jobs will be lost and what taxes will be raised to cover the latest losses. For years the Government has failed to manage the budget in the good times, now we’ve hit trouble and the budget is in crisis.”
Mr Griffiths said the CGC data found South Australia levies its taxes more heavily than any other State.
“SA has been the most severely taxing State in each year under Rann Labor. The last year South Australia did not have this mantle was in 2001-02 – the last year of the previous Liberal government,” Mr Griffiths said.
“In fact, South Australia taxed more severely than the national average in six out of the nine categories.”
According to the CGC figures, the Rann Government has:
• Levied land tax more severely than the national average by 126.35%
• Levied stamp duty more severely than the national average by 22.40%
• Levied overall taxes more severely than the national average by 11.78%.
Table 2: CGC Revenue Raising Effort Ratios, 2007-08
|
|
SA
|
NSW
|
Vic
|
Qld
|
WA
|
Tas
|
|
Payroll tax
|
91.81
|
108.06
|
93.69
|
88.87
|
108.41
|
98.61
|
|
Land revenue
|
226.35
|
112.57
|
111.61
|
63.73
|
69.45
|
294.87
|
|
Stamp duty on conveyances
|
122.40
|
93.77
|
115.65
|
76.93
|
125.04
|
91.70
|
|
Gambling taxation
|
118.53
|
98.07
|
131.55
|
95.70
|
32.65
|
84.58
|
|
Insurance taxation
|
144.60
|
63.96
|
125.40
|
98.00
|
143.90
|
98.01
|
|
Heavy vehicle registration fees and taxes
|
124.21
|
117.77
|
87.22
|
86.56
|
100.32
|
105.88
|
|
Light vehicle registration fees and taxes
|
79.52
|
138.32
|
68.26
|
104.90
|
83.45
|
67.37
|
|
Stamp duty on motor vehicle registrations and transfers
|
106.51
|
95.41
|
103.00
|
80.21
|
138.22
|
96.04
|
|
Other revenue
|
65.24
|
161.21
|
19.56
|
137.92
|
79.74
|
4.12
|
|
Total taxation
|
111.78
|
104.76
|
101.89
|
85.59
|
102.78
|
92.66
|
|
Source: CGC (2009), Report on Relative Fiscal Capacities of States – Attachment E p4-8
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Source: CGC (2009), Report on Relative Fiscal Capacities of States – Attachment E p4-8
Ratios above 100 mean a state taxed more severely than the average state; ratios below 100 mean the opposite.