Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party, Minister for Finance) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Wong is trying to answer the question that she herself presumably wrote and handed over to Senator Gallagher. This is of course a hypothetical question and I have previously rejected its premise. But let me just entertain what she is trying to suggest here. The answer is that it depends on a whole range of assumptions. I do not know what Labor's assumptions are in terms of their plans to increase the GST. We know they got Treasury to cost increases in the GST when they were in government. We know that Labor modelled increases in the GST when they were in government. But it all depends on the assumptions about what you do with other taxes in that sort of scenario. The truth is that we are engaged in a conversation about how we can improve our tax system, how we can make it more growth friendly. As part of that we are, in good faith, collecting all the necessary information so that, in good time, we can make an informed decision. (Time expired)