Treasurer admits there’s nothing stopping bank fee hikes
After hitting the major banks hard with taxes in the 2017 Federal Budget, Treasurer Scott Morrison has conceded that there’s little the Government can do to stop the banks from passing these taxes onto consumers through additional fees.
Speaking on ABC’s Insiders program, Mr Morrison said there was every chance the banks would pass the charge on, “In the same way that banks have put up interest rates, even when there hasn’t been a move in the Reserve Bank cash rate. I mean, banks will find any way they can to charge their customers more with fees and charges.”
But the Treasurer hit back at suggestions that this was an unfair tax, saying, “To suggest this is somehow the end of financial civilisation as we know it is one of the biggest overreaches in a whinge about a tax I’ve ever seen.”
Mr Morrison’s comments come after Australian Bankers’ Association Chief Executive Anna Bligh said banks would have to find a way to pass the additional costs imposed by the 2017 Federal Budget on, in the same way any other business would.
Ms Bligh said, “The major banks are terribly concerned about the risk of major unintended consequences of this new tax, and there is an urgent need for more detailed information so we can properly assess its impacts.
“This process is already breaking all the rules and conventions about major taxation implementation, including no prior consultation, no exposure draft legislation for public comment, and an extraordinarily brief timetable before a hastily designed tax is presented to the Parliament.
“Disastrous unintended consequences could flow from this rush.”
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull believes the banks should wear the taxes. In an interview with Sky News, Mr Turnbull said, “They don't need to pass this on, they're very profitable and the ACCC will be watching them very, very carefully indeed.
“Banks benefit from the implicit support of the government, they are as they say too big to fail.
“It's fair they make a contribution... it helps us bring the budget back into balance.”
What’s your take? Was the Government right to push the taxes onto the big banks? Are you concerned the taxes will hit you as a consumer?
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