Question Time

State Major Bank Levy

Mr MARSHALL (Dunstan—Leader of the Opposition) (14:19): My question is to the Treasurer. Why has the government ignored warnings from South Australian employers that the state bank tax will damage the reputation and investment appeal of South Australia, hurting jobs growth and our state's future prosperity?

The Hon. J.W. WEATHERILL (Cheltenham—Premier) (14:19): A very timely question, given that The Australia Institute today have just released a media release, and let me quote from it because it is germane to the very point:

The tax simply can't deter investment in SA as it is levied on a proportion of the banks national equity. If revenue raised in this way was then spent on labour intensive services like health and education, it would be a net job creator.

With both federal and state governments suffering revenue problems stemming from tax cuts during boom years, politicians are left with [little] choice: raise taxes on workers, or tax the world's most profitable banks.

When it comes to rewarding their CEOs, the banks don't appear to be feeling as hard done by, paying out $45 million. That's around half of what the SA levy proposes raising on just five individuals.

For quite some time we've heard Prime Ministers and federal Treasurers calling on states to increase their own revenues. This is a fair, simple and economically responsible way for a state to do just that…