Rob Taylor
Reuters
Australia imposed a temporary new tax today to help fund a multi-billion-dollar rebuilding programme after floods devastated infrastructure and ruined thousands of homes and businesses across the eastern seaboard over the past month.
Following are some questions and answers about the political and economic implications of the one-year levy for Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s one-seat minority Labor government, which relies on backing from a sole Green MP and three independents to stay in power.
The new tax guarantees a fiery return to parliament on 8 February, with the conservative opposition opposed to extra taxes.
But the independents and Greens wielding balance-of-power in both the upper and lower houses are mostly from rural and flood-damaged states, and should back a levy that has been tightly targeted to avoid the poor and flood-affected.
Be the first to comment on "Australia imposes flood tax to aid recovery"