Carbon tax fairer than GST hike: Greens

The Australian Greens say a new analysis suggests that it would be fairer to bring back a price on carbon than making changes to the GST.

Smoke billows out of a chimney stack of steel works factories in Port Kembla, south of Sydney. Source: AAP

The Australian Greens say a carbon tax would raise as much revenue as increasing the GST rate or broadening its base, while also reducing pollution.

Adam Bandt says a Parliamentary Library analysis has found that raising the GST rate to 12.5 per cent would raise a similar amount to a $28 per tonne carbon tax, but would cost households three times as much.

Extending the GST to fresh food, education and health care would also raise a similar amount to the original carbon tax, yet households would pay four times as much, Mr Bandt said in a statement.