2023-04-03
The Victorians Greens are calling on the Victorian Labor Government to introduce a state-based ‘Big Bank Levy’ along with other revenue measures to avoid an ‘austerity’ budget this May.
Parliamentary Budget Office costings obtained by the Greens have found that a ‘Big Bank Levy’ could raise between $4.5 and $14 billion dollars over the next ten years depending on the rate that is set.
The Greens have said this revenue could be as high as between $28 and $38 billion dollars, if the government were to also properly tax property developers and the gambling industry, move away from mass incarceration and embrace drug law reform.
Victorian Greens treasury spokesperson, Sam Hibbins, warned that Victoria was already facing a massive social and environmental deficit and a budget with cuts and job losses now would push people even further to margins and make the extinction crisis worse.
He added that instead, revenue raised by properly taxing profiteering big banks, corporations and embracing criminal justice reform should be invested into measures such as more public and affordable housing, scrapping the public sector wages cap and a zero extinction fund.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens treasury spokesperson, Sam Hibbins MP:
“The government has a clear choice in this budget: either tax the profiteering big banks and corporations, or push people even further to the margins and make the extinction crisis worse.
“It would be unconscionable for the government to deliver an austerity budget, while people and the planet suffer, and the big banks and corporations profiteer off the cost-of-living crisis.
“It’s only fair that the big banks, property industry and gambling lobby pay their fair share to help people in need, and protect and restore our environment.”