No forthcoming tweaks will be implemented on the carbon pricing scheme, meaning the federal government will stick on its current form despite emerging claims that the tax could hinder economic growth.
The economic modelling that governs the carbon price is bound to work, according to Finance Minister Penny Wong, stressing too that the Treasury did a great job opting for fixed pricing during at least the initial roll out of the tax, which takes effect July this year.
However, a report prepared by the Minerals Council of Australia had indicated that the country could lose as much as $30 billion over the next six years due directly to the new carbon emission levy.
The council had argued for the government to reconsider the fixed pricing and review its impact on the domestic set-up vis-à-vis to the adoption of international pricing for the new tax program.
According to the Australian Associated Press (AAP), Europe’s carbon tax plan, which also came under fire from major countries like the United States, China and India, only charges between $10 and $17 per tonne.
Australia’s emission charges, on the other hand, has been at $23 per tonne, the council said, adding that in the long run the tax could prevent expansions and lead to billions of losses for the local economy.
Wong, however, believes otherwise, insisting that “this is the right architecture for the times.”
She reminded that the carbon tax will be implemented in phases - “going through a period, first, of a fixed price and then there is a floating price.”
The Finance Minister rejected suggestions that carbon pricing could stunt economic growth, underscoring instead that “carbon price will be the signal to investors to invest in the clean energy economy that provides jobs tomorrow.”
“We can grow our economy, we can grow jobs, we can grow our incomes and have a carbon price,” Wong stressed during an interview with ABC on Tuesday.
But the Coalition is sold by the council report that the economy and ordinary Australians would suffer under the carbon tax’s strict regime of fixed pricing.
“(The report) has made it absolutely clear that the carbon tax will destroy national income and destroy real wages,” opposition climate action spokesman Greg Hunt told AAP.
He added that the average Australian household stands to lose some $470 per year in income once the tax starts rolling out.
Also, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is adamant that additional taxes will not solve the financial difficulties of the country, more so of the ordinary Australians.
“What we want is lower spending, because if we get government spending down, we can get taxes down,” Abbott was reported by The Australian as saying on Tuesday in airing his opposition to any planned new tax measures by the government.
