Australian Financial Review http://www.afr.com.au/content/990318/update/update34.html March 18, 1999 GST would hurt Aborigines, says ATSIC ATSIC has told the senate committee on the GST that proposed tax reforms would increase the hardship for already disadvantaged indigenous people. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait and Islander Commission said in its submission that the Government should consider exempting food from the GST -- or at least increase the level of compensation to people in rural and remote communities. The submission said the proposed rate of four per cent compensation should be lifted to 7.9 per cent. ATSIC also recommended the Government introduce additional measures to stimulate economic activities in these communities. Measures for remote and rural areas could include tax exemption for indigenous-owned businesses that are on "inalienable" land, subsidies for the capital costs of setting up businesses in such areas, assistance to identify business opportunities and a range of other assistance measures. It also wanted a program introduced to help indigenous businesses meet the costs of being GST collectors, and said Government should give community organisations more money to compensate for the additional costs. ATSIC said the GST would add substantially more to the cost of living than the 1.9 per cent calculated by the Government and at best would have minimal benefits on real income. The proposed tax reform, as it stood, would set back economic development in the ATSIC regions, hindering both business and employment. The Government should also consider extending the transport fuel credit for registered businesses. "People in remote communities spend a disproportionate percentage of their income on basic food items, sometimes twice the prices charged in the cities and towns of south-eastern Australia," the submission said. "They pay far more for fuel, for vehicle servicing and parts and for tobacco." AAP c This material is subject to copyright and any unauthorised use, copying or mirroring is prohibited. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
