It is now obvious why Peter Beattie was happy to sign up Queensland to the New Tax System.
The Queensland Government's new spending announced today is funded from the
New Tax System introduced by the Commonwealth Government. So far, the Queensland
Government has received $4,658,223,345 in GST revenue from the Commonwealth.
Next financial year, GST payments for the Queensland Government are expected
to total $5,198,300,000.
The Commonwealth's New Tax System also pays Queensland to abolish State taxes
such as stamp duty on quoted marketable securities on 1 July this year. It allows
the Queensland Government to plan for future spending increases and tax cuts.
The GST is already paying for Queensland's schools, hospitals, roads and environmental protection, as well as paying the salaries of State government employees such as police and nurses.
The biggest threat to these Queensland public services is Kim Beazley's proposed rollback of the GST, which would, by definition, reduce revenue and reduce services to Queensland.