Japan takes extra income from Aussie gasoline than Australian authorities, inquiry informed | UNW

Japan receives more revenue from Australian gas imports than the Albanese Government collects from exports of the valuable resource, an inquiry has been told.

A Senate inquiry is probing Australia’s gas tax arrangements amid calls for a new 25 per cent tax on exports or an increase to the petroleum resource rent tax on windfall profits – proposals gas companies warn could put Australia’s energy security at risk.

The Australia Institute estimates a new 25 per cent tax would generate a whopping $17 billion a year.

Executive director Richard Denniss told the inquiry on Tuesday that the proposal was about fairness and a “once in a lifetime opportunity”.

He said Australia Institute research showed the Japanese government collected about $8b a year from imported coal and gas – of which Australia is one of the largest suppliers.

“The Australia Institute released research today showing that the Japanese government gets more revenue from Australian gas imports than the Australian government gets from Australia’s gas exports,” he said.

“Now, perhaps the Parliament thinks that’s fair. Perhaps the Parliament thinks that’s as it was designed to be.

“Or, perhaps this is a unique opportunity for Parliament to come together on an issue that seems to unite parliamentarians in a way that few issues do to fix this issue.”

Mr Denniss said the proposal was “not about harming Japan” and the price paid for gas by the Asian power would not increase.

“The Japanese could always cut their import tax if they’re really concerned about the price of gas,” he said.

“A gas export tax will not increase the price of gas paid by Japan. It will not increase the price of gas paid by Korea or any of our other customers.

“There’s no Norway premium for Norwegian gas, which is heavily taxed. All of the gas is selling at the same world price.

“The reason the gas industry is sad is they know the customers won’t pay the higher price.”

Mr Denniss said a tax would increase the supply of gas to Australians “by taxing the gas exporter to increase the supply of gas”.

“And, we will push the price of that gas down,” he said.

Outside of the inquiry, Mr Denniss said the gas industry had a “very small employment” of about 18,000 people.

“There’s 100,000 who work at McDonald’s,” he said.

“Nurses pay more income tax than the gas industry pays in the company tax.”

Free public transport

Former Greens leader and Australian Conservation Foundation chief executive Adam Bandt said the tax could be used to fund “free public transport forever”.

“They would be erecting statues in every town square for the first prime minister that makes the gas corporations pay their fair share of tax and uses it to fund free public transport, grow the industries of the future or pay for the clean fields after cyclones and floods,” he said.

Mr Bandt, who is also fronting the inquiry, said there was widespread support for a reappraisal of Australia’s gas tax arrangements.

Former schoolteacher and Punters Politics mastermind Konrad Benjamin told the inquiry that Australians were “getting ripped off” and that had “struck a chord with punters”.

“We, millions of regular Aussies, are now paying attention, and we understand a few things that we might not have understood before.

“We understand that Australia’s gas is incredibly valuable. We understand that we’re giving most of it away for free to foreign corporations.

“We understand that those same foreign corporations pay close to bugger-all tax.”

Mr Benjamin said the question for “punters” was “How is it that we are holding all of the cards yet still losing?”

“We’re told every day we can’t afford to invest in schools … we have to cut costs here, cut funding,” he said.

“We’re about to hear that the global economy is going through a shock, and we have to talk about belts because something that happened overseas is making everything more expensive for us.”

Opponents of the measure warn a new tax could put at risk Australia’s relationship with Asian countries reliant on Australian gas but which Australia’s is also reliant upon.