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Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has pushed back against calls to remove GST from electricity bills, expressing concern about the multibillion-dollar impact on state and territory government budgets and observing other taxes could just be increased to compensate for the shortfall.
Parliamentary Budget Office costings for libertarian senator David Leyonhjelm show the idea would cost the states and territories - the recipients of GST revenue after it is collected by the federal government - a maximum of $2 billion.
"She went so richly, and with such grace" Samuel Johnson
Tributes are flowing in for cancer campaigner Connie Johnson, the sister of Gold Logie-winning actor Samuel Johnson, who has died following her long battle with cancer.
Connie Johnson awarded top honour a day before her death
Awarded an Order of Australia, the sister of actor Samuel Johnson raised millions of dollars for cancer research during her long battle with the disease. Vision courtesy: Ten News.
After travelling more than 3500km, students from Yakanarra Community School in Western Australia launch their song book at the National Library of Australia in Canberra.
The PM has rejected calls to remove the GST from our electricity bills, saying States and Territories will find other ways to make up the shortfall.
Senator Leyonhjelm has argued the move, which could wipe hundreds of dollars off power bills, should be considered because power is an essential service just like water, which is exempt from GST.
The PBO advice projects household electricity prices would fall 9 per cent under the change and inflation would slow.
Asked if the government was considering the proposal, the Prime Minister emphasised the $2 billion hit to government budgets and dismissed the idea there would ultimately be savings for consumers.
"Where are they going to make that up from? Are they going to put up land tax? Are they going to cut services? Or are they going to ask us to put up income tax? We are all running very tight budgets here so it would just pass the tax burden on to some other part of the system."
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Treasurer Scott Morrison said the idea was "basically a tax merry-go-round" and warned the GST revenue base was already shrinking.
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Senator Leyonhjelm's proposal to reduce power bills has emerged amid a broader debate around the affordability, reliability and environmental damage of energy sources.
It is considered to be more likely that a private sector buyer would be found if AGL, which has committed to the close of the plant as part of a wider move away from coal, agreed to sell.
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