The Hard Politics Of The GST
July 5, 2000
After a smooth start to the GST last Saturday, the real politics of the taxation reforms are beginning to take shape. The political fallout is hard to predict. The ACCC has been inundated with questions and complaints since business opened on Monday, but public acceptance of the GST has been evident at the retail level.
In the coming weeks, employees all around Australia will receive their weekly, fortnightly or monthly pay packets and it is then that the real political contest will take shape as people weigh up their take-home pay gains against the losses of the GST.
Over the ensuing months, electricity, gas, telephone and credit card bills will also show the effect of the GST.
In October/November, businesses will need to file the first of their 3-monthly activity reports and remit their GST collections to the Taxation Department. Many businesses will begin to experience cash-flow problems at this time.
With Prime Minister Howard and his entourage in London for the centenary of Federation celebrations, Opposition leader Kim Beazley is coming under increasing attack over his plans for a "roll back" of the GST. The ALP appears to have invested heavily in an election campaign that focuses on the GST and not everyone in the party is happy about this.
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