Fairer, better taxation
Vision: Shifting the burden from individuals and small businesses to those who can and should pay.
Why are we here? Australia is not a high-taxing country overall, but our tax system leans heavily on individuals. Meanwhile, some of the largest and richest companies pay little or no tax. Multinationals enjoy subsidies and loopholes while everyday Australians struggle. This isn’t an accident – it’s a system designed to benefit the wealthy and powerful.
We need a tax system that works for working people, that funds the services we all rely on, and that ensures those who can afford to pay, do.
Kate Lockhart, Independent for Corangamite, is advocating for:
Ending fossil fuel subsidies
- Redirecting the $11+ billion in annual fossil fuel subsidies to support communities, renewables, and lower power bills.
Fixing the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax (PRRT)
- Reforming the PRRT to close loopholes and ensure resource companies pay their fair share – raising billions for the public good.
Taxing windfall profits
- Introducing a windfall profits tax on dominant corporations like banks, supermarkets, and airlines that use their market power to drive up prices and profits.
Closing corporate tax loopholes
- Requiring large companies to pay a minimum 10% tax—raising over $60 billion annually.
- Taxing corporate turnover and dividends, not just profit.
- Strengthening laws to stop offshore profit-shifting and tax avoidance.
Making polluters pay
- Introducing a Clean Economy Levy on industries that profit from environmental harm – like mining, aquaculture, and aviation.
- Using this levy to create a Sovereign Wealth Fund to support clean energy and protect Australians from climate impacts.
Ensuring tax cuts are fair
- Focusing tax relief on low- and middle-income earners—those who need it most.
- Raising the tax-free threshold instead of giving cuts to the wealthy.
- Reserving company tax cuts for small businesses earning under $1 million annually.
Quotes from Kate Lockhart:
“Australia’s tax burden falls heavily on everyday people and small businesses. Meanwhile, the wealthiest companies take our resources, avoid tax, and get handed billions in subsidies.”
“If the top 50 companies in Australia simply paid a minimum 10 per cent tax, we could raise over $60 billion a year – money that should be invested in housing, health care, education and clean energy.”
“The $11 billion we gave to fossil fuel companies last year could have helped people struggling with housing or funded our renewable energy transition. The problem isn’t a lack of money – it’s a lack of political courage.”
Sources:
~ Kate Lockhart
Integrity, Equity, Climate Action
Your Community Independent candidate for Corangamite 2025
