There’s always a kit bag of revenue initiatives around at this stage of the budget cycle and plenty will be needed this time.
One possible initiative is plain spanking obvious, easy to do and assuredly popular: a drastic hike in the major bank levy.
And that’s why I believe a big hike in the levy is likely, even inevitable.
Hopefully Jim Chalmers is going to triple it. He could hike it by ten times and I would still defend it to the hilt.
A widening in the bank levy is needed, as well as also easy to do.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank reckon they are a big bank. Tax them too, along with Macquarie Bank.
And then bring in a universal bank levy, covering all mutual banks and credit unions – the lot.
Treasury talked Chris Bowen into the levy during his short stint, and one budget, as Treasurer.
Five basis points – practically nothing, and definitely nowhere near enough given the nature and direction of the forever global banking crisis, as things stand in late March 2023.
A universal levy would give a much-needed impetus to the amalgamation of the 30 smallest credit unions and mutual banks into peers.
As for the carry on and the hoo-ha we saw last time over the bank tax, can I just say now, let’s just skip that.