Malcolm Turnbull says states cannot credibly ask the federal government to raise taxes now that they've refused to do it themselves.
The prime minister says defeat of his income tax plan is a wake-up call for state premiers to start living within their means.
Malcolm Turnbull was forced to withdraw the proposal just two days after hailing it as one of the greatest reforms in generations after it was rejected by leaders at Friday's Council of Australian Governments meeting.
Now that the states had refused an opportunity to raise income taxes to pay for services like hospitals and schools, they could not credibly ask the federal government to do it for them.
"What that means is we must now live within our means," he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
The prime minister says defeat of his income tax plan is a wake-up call for state premiers to start living within their means.
Malcolm Turnbull was forced to withdraw the proposal just two days after hailing it as one of the greatest reforms in generations after it was rejected by leaders at Friday's Council of Australian Governments meeting.
Now that the states had refused an opportunity to raise income taxes to pay for services like hospitals and schools, they could not credibly ask the federal government to do it for them.
"What that means is we must now live within our means," he told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.
