The Carbon Sense Coalition today proposed three simple tax reforms to the Canberra Tax Forum.

The Chairman of Carbon Sense, Mr Viv Forbes, said that just three steps would make Australia’s ramshackle system of rules, exemptions, loopholes and penalties so simple that even politicians could understand it and so efficient that compliance costs would be almost eliminated.

“The reform is mainly repealing things and affects only three taxes – the proposed carbon tax, the GST and the income tax.

“The aim of the carbon tax is to deter the use of carbon fuels by making them more expensive.

“All goods and services have a carbon fuel component in their cost and price, and will bear a share of the carbon tax.

“This carbon tax is thus a broad-based goods and services tax.

“We do not need two GST’s.

“Therefore the simplest tax reform of all is to abandon all nineteen carbon-GST bills and also abolish all exemptions applying to the current GST.

“To make this GST change palatable to the people, let’s abolish all income taxes. We do not need that complex regulatory mess either.

“Overnight people will have an incentive to produce things, create jobs and consume less – this has always been the path to real community prosperity.

“Just three changes – simple, predictable, no loopholes.

“Forget Tax Forum Talkfests and Tax Return Torture.

“Just do it now.”