government services, infrastructure, tax reform
Q: Would you support or oppose the following tax reforms to raise more funds for Government services and infrastructure?
|
|
Total support |
Total oppose |
|
Strongly support |
Support |
Oppose |
Strongly oppose |
Don’t know |
|
Support Jul 2015 |
Support Feb 2016 |
|
| Stop companies and wealthy people using legal loopholes in minimise tax payments by sending funds offshore | 86% | 5% | 65% | 21% | 3% | 2% | 8% | na | na | |||
| Force multinational companies to pay a minimum tax rate on Australian earnings | 80% | 9% | 55% | 25% | 6% | 3% | 11% | 79% | 78% | |||
| Increase income tax rate for high earners | 65% | 23% | 32% | 33% | 16% | 7% | 11% | 63% | 64% | |||
| Remove superannuation tax concessions for high earners | 62% | 25% | 29% | 33% | 14% | 11% | 13% | 59% | 58% | |||
| Remove negative gearing | 39% | 35% | 17% | 22% | 20% | 15% | 27% | 37% | 37% | |||
| Remove GST exemptions (e.g. on food, education) | 37% | 54% | 13% | 24% | 22% | 32% | 9% | 33% | 32% | |||
| Replace stamp duty with land tax | 33% | 33% | 10% | 23% | 19% | 14% | 35% | 26% | 26% | |||
| Increase the GST | 27% | 66% | 6% | 21% | 29% | 37% | 7% | 24% | 23% | |||
There was strong majority support for stopping companies and wealthy people using legal loopholes in minimise tax payments by sending funds offshore (86%), forcing multinational companies to pay a minimum tax rate on Australian earnings (80%), increasing income tax rate for high earners (65%) and removing superannuation tax concessions for high earners (62%).
There was strong majority opposition to increasing the GST (66%).
Q. Would you support or oppose the following tax reforms to raise more funds for Government services and infrastructure?
| Total support | Total oppose | Strongly support | Support | Oppose | Strongly oppose | Don’t know | ||
| Force multinational companies to pay a minimum tax rate on Australian earnings | 76% | 8% | 43% | 33% | 5% | 3% | 15% | |
| Increase income tax rate for high earners | 65% | 23% | 27% | 38% | 17% | 6% | 12% | |
| Remove superannuation tax concessions for high earners | 55% | 25% | 26% | 29% | 17% | 8% | 20% | |
| Remove negative gearing | 33% | 30% | 12% | 21% | 18% | 12% | 37% | |
| Replace stamp duty with land tax | 24% | 34% | 4% | 20% | 19% | 15% | 43% | |
| Remove GST exemptions (e.g. food) | 36% | 51% | 15% | 21% | 25% | 26% | 13% | |
| Increase the GST | 19% | 70% | 4% | 15% | 33% | 37% | 11% | |
| Tax on inheritances from wills | 13% | 74% | 3% | 10% | 31% | 43% | 13% |
There was strong majority support for forcing multinational companies to pay a minimum tax rate on Australian earnings (76%), increasing income tax rate for high earners (65%) and removing superannuation tax concessions for high earners (55%).
There was strong majority opposition to a tax on inheritances from wills (74%) and increasing the GST (70%).
Carbon Tax, Essential Report, GST, Mining tax, negative gearing, Polling, tax, tax reform
Q. For each of the following proposals around tax reform, please indicate whether you strongly support, support, oppose or strongly oppose the suggestion.
| Total Support | Total Oppose | Strongly support | Support | Oppose | Strongly Oppose | Don’t know | ||
| Decreasing income tax for low income earners | 81% | 11% | 34% | 47% | 8% | 3% | 7% | |
| Improving tax breaks for small-medium business | 76% | 10% | 20% | 56% | 7% | 3% | 13% | |
| Increasing the mining tax | 47% | 37% | 16% | 31% | 22% | 15% | 16% | |
| Abolishing negative gearing on new property purchases | 33% | 37% | 8% | 25% | 20% | 17% | 29% | |
| Cutting the company tax rate | 32% | 41% | 6% | 26% | 29% | 12% | 28% | |
| Repealing the fringe benefits tax | 30% | 28% | 7% | 23% | 19% | 9% | 42% | |
| Increasing the carbon tax | 19% | 68% | 5% | 14% | 21% | 47% | 13% | |
| Introducing an inheritance tax | 10% | 75% | 3% | 7% | 24% | 51% | 15% | |
| Increasing the goods and services tax (GST) | 9% | 84% | 1% | 8% | 31% | 53% | 7% |
Decreasing income tax for low income earners has the strongest support from respondents, with 81% either strongly supporting or supporting the suggestion. Improving tax breaks for small-medium business also attracted a similar amount of endorsement (76% total support).
Increasing the mining tax has a significant amount of support (47% total support).
Whilst the proposed reforms of abolishing negative gearing on new property purchases and cutting the company tax rate attracted a significant amount of support, more respondents are opposed to these measures than in favour of them: with 37% opposed to abolishing negative gearing and 41% opposed to cutting the company tax rate.
Strongest opposition is registered against the proposal to increase the GST, with 84% opposed to the idea and only 9% in favour of it. Introducing an inheritance tax is similarly unpopular (75% total opposed).