Australia call for GST rise

One of the members of the Australian tax group, the Henry Tax Review, has called for an increase in Australian Goods and Service Tax GST (similar to VAT) to fund the simplification of insurance premium and other taxes.

Australian GST is currently set at 10%. Professor Smith, who sits on the on going Henry Tax Review team, has suggested scrapping a number of taxes on insurance and employment - he believes these undermine economic activity and reduce Australia's global competitiveness. Professor Smith put forward a rise to 15%. New Zealand increased its GST from 12.5% to 15% last year.

The Henry Tax review includes a number of taxes, but not a GST rate change.