Australian PM Tony Abbot mulling new deficit reduction tax, despite campaign pledge
Conservative administration facing fiscal deficit warns high-earning Australians they may have to pay levy to reduce government debt, in spite of electoral promises not to tax more
Weeks before he was elected Tony Abbott promised no new taxes. But with his first annual budget looming, Australia’s prime minister on Tuesday wouldn’t rule out a so-called deficit reduction levy to be paid by higher income earners.
Abbott has warned that his conservative government faces tough decisions to rein in mounting debt in its budget blueprint for the fiscal year starting on July 1. The blueprint will be revealed to lawmakers on May 13.
“There’s been speculation, as you know, about a deficit reduction levy.”
Abbott, who came to power with a decisive election victory last September after six years in opposition, said that introducing a temporary levy in the budget might not break his election promise to introduce no new taxes.
“There’s been speculation, as you know, about a deficit reduction levy,” Abbott told Melbourne Radio 3AW.
“I think if there was a permanent increase in taxation, that would certainly be inconsistent with the sort of things that were said before the election,” he added, referring to his election promises.
But Abbott would say if the levy would be in or not for next year’s budget, in keeping with previous government policies of keeping budget details secret until they are released to Parliament. In practice, budget measures are usually published in unsourced media reports every year as part of government public relations strategies.
