He never thought he’d say it, but Julian Morrow wants to talk about tax
“We need to talk about tax,” writes the comedian and TV producer, best known as part of the satirical team The Chaser, “because of the GFC.”
“In case you’re unfamiliar with the acronym, it refers to the massive global economic meltdown caused by large financial institutions, known in economics as Greedy F’ing Cs.”
Writing in an opinion piece in The Age, Morrow continues that US and European governments have been forced to inject trillions into the world’s banks to bail them out of disaster. And while Australia may have fared better, our national debt is still somewhere between $200 billion and “whatever figure Barnaby Joyce came up with today”.
In short, he writes, governments across the world need to raise “whopping amounts of revenue”, not just to return to surplus and pay off national debt, but also to address urgent public spending priorities such as global poverty and climate change.
“If you don’t believe me – and I admit I’m probably one of the few people with less economic credibility than Barnaby Joyce – then listen to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, or any one of the 350 economists from more than 35 countries – including Jeffrey Sachs and the Nobel laureates Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman – who have signed a letter to the G20 calling for the introduction of an FTT.
“All of them support its introduction, as do other Australians far more reputable than me, such as World Vision boss Tim Costello and ethicist Peter Singer.
“The Robin Hood tax will give governments more money to pay off debt and fight poverty, and stabilise the financial system without deterring meaningful trade. Australia should take the lead in urging all G20 nations to adopt it.”
To read Julian Morrow’s full report in The Age, click here.
