Following the disastrous Victorian ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires, the Victorian Government has increased the Fire Service Levy to 68%. With the triple tax on tax, flow-on effect, it means that business insurance is double the price of the base premium.
Let us put this into perspective. The federal government argues that they are putting up the tax on alcopop drinks to reduce consumption. According to the Australian Drug Foundation, in an article headed "Latest figures prove alcopop tax is hitting home"[1] the higher tax is lowering consumption[2].
On the other hand, the state governments of Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania turn a blind eye to the fact that when you more than double the cost of insurance, people buy less.
Does insurance hurt the Australian economy or government like alcohol or cigarettes? Of course not! On the contrary, insurance payouts will approach 2% of Australian GDP this financial year. How could Australian businesses or citizens survive without it? Insurance has been aptly described by the Insurance Advisers Association of Australia, as "the oxygen in the lungs of the economy". It is no understatement to say that it is vital to the recovery of the Australian economy to have a vibrant insurance industry. Yet it is seen as a cash cow to be milked with impunity by politicians.
How can politicians sleep at night while allowing the price of insurance, which provides such vital protection to businesses and citizens in general, to be adverseley affected by taxation, to the detriment of the economy and worse still, potentially contributing to loss of life? How can any sane person justify the $60 million-plus in ‘administration charges’ taken out of the MFB and CFA by the Victorian government from the levies imposed on the buyers of insurance?
The current amounts of the fire service levy in New South Wales and Victoria is set out in the table below.
NSW Fire & State Emergency Services
Victoria Metropolitan Fire & Emergency Services Board
Victoria Country Fire Authority
|
As most of you know, this is only one of three taxes imposed by government on insurance. If we take the property and business interruption sections of a business pack or industrial special risks policy, the full extent of taxation can be to more than double the cost of insurance. The table below shows this.
Item |
Tax Rate |
$ |
Tax |
Tax on Tax |
Premium including Terrorism Levy |
|
100.00 |
|
|
Plus Fire Service Tax |
68% |
68.00 |
68.00 |
|
Sub Total |
|
168.00 |
|
|
Plus GST |
10% |
16.80 |
16.80 |
6.80 |
Sub Total |
|
184.8 |
|
|
Plus Victorian Government Stamp Duty |
10% |
18.48 |
18.48 |
8.48 |
Total Cost of Insurance |
|
203.28 |
103.38 |
15.28 |