NSW vs WA: GST Battle Over Fairness

0:00From the Daily News Now Network, this is Sydney News Today. New South Wales is clashing with Western Australia over the goods and services tax distribution. The men's government says the current setup forces New South Wales taxpayers to subsidize the rest of the country unfairly. Treasure Daniel Mookie calls it irreparably broken and wants a shift to a per person split of the $100 billion GST pool. This proposal would hand New South Wales an extra $3.2 billion for services like hospitals and schools. To shield smaller regions such as the Northern Territory, Tasmania, South Australia, and the Australian capital territory from big losses, they suggest targeted federal grants. The fight stems from a 2018 federal deal that propped up Western Australia's low GST share, originally budgeted at $2.3 billion. But now ballooning towards $60 billion by decades end. That extra federal cash goes to every state except Western Australia to keep things balanced.

1:03Mookie argues the system strains budgets everywhere and pushes for a $50 minimum per dollar of GST raised plus four year forecast from the grants commission to help with planning. Every state and territory except Western Australia agrees changes are needed. Meanwhile, Western Australia's government insists it still contributes $2.5 billion yearly to others through mining taxes and boasts. The lowest reliance on federal aid as the nation's top performer per capita. We'd like to thank our sponsor for making this episode possible. Do not just listen to podcasts, get lost in them comfortably, S-O-L-I, solely pillow.com.