TASMANIAN Labor senator Helen Polley says the party will refuse to cop the blame if the federal government implements a tax on bank deposits in the May budget. The Australian Financial Review has reported that the Coalition is likely to install a bank deposits insurance levy as a means to raising about $500 million a year. The Liberals opposed the tax - which in this form would be a 0.05 per cent levy on every deposit of up to $250,000 - when it was first suggested by Labor in 2013. Treasurer Joe Hockey yesterday labelled the bank tax "Labor's tax". He said the party was consulting with key stake "They announced it, they budgeted for it, they are the ones that said it was necessary," he said. "From our perspective, we've said, 'righto, we'll refer it to the [David] Murray Inquiry into the financial system. We've done that, we are consulting widely on it, we'll have more to say on that in the future. "But the hypocrisy of the Labor party talking about this government having a bank tax, when they were the ones that initiated it, they were the ones that budgeted for it, and they were the ones that were implementing it." Senator Polley dismissed Mr Hockey's comments. She said the party no longer supported the levy since the Murray inquiry which recommended against the model. "This is another broken promise, this is the fifth new tax he's introduced in the last 12 months," Senator Polley said. "This is just a government in chaos - every time they say they're going to do something they either drop it or do a backflip on it." Tasmanian Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie took a different tack and called on the government to scrap the levy in favour of her own financial transactions tax. "My financial transactions tax will raise almost three times more in revenue than the Liberals' bank tax, while only targeting about half a dozen high-frequency share trading companies in Australia," she said.
TASMANIAN Labor senator Helen Polley says the party will refuse to cop the blame if the federal government implements a tax on bank deposits in the May budget.
The Australian Financial Review has reported that the Coalition is likely to install a bank deposits insurance levy as a means to raising about $500 million a year.
The Liberals opposed the tax - which in this form would be a 0.05 per cent levy on every deposit of up to $250,000 - when it was first suggested by Labor in 2013.
Treasurer Joe Hockey yesterday labelled the bank tax "Labor's tax".
He said the party was consulting with key stake
"They announced it, they budgeted for it, they are the ones that said it was necessary," he said.
"From our perspective, we've said, 'righto, we'll refer it to the [David] Murray Inquiry into the financial system. We've done that, we are consulting widely on it, we'll have more to say on that in the future.
"But the hypocrisy of the Labor party talking about this government having a bank tax, when they were the ones that initiated it, they were the ones that budgeted for it, and they were the ones that were implementing it."
Senator Polley dismissed Mr Hockey's comments.
She said the party no longer supported the levy since the Murray inquiry which recommended against the model.
"This is another broken promise, this is the fifth new tax he's introduced in the last 12 months," Senator Polley said.
"This is just a government in chaos - every time they say they're going to do something they either drop it or do a backflip on it."
Tasmanian Independent Senator Jacqui Lambie took a different tack and called on the government to scrap the levy in favour of her own financial transactions tax.
"My financial transactions tax will raise almost three times more in revenue than the Liberals' bank tax, while only targeting about half a dozen high-frequency share trading companies in Australia," she said.
