Commonwealth Bank boss Ian Narev says Australia needs to overhaul its entire tax system to support the country's nascent transition to a post-resources economy.
Debate over the merits of raising the GST has dominated discourse on tax reform for months, but Mr Narev says the entire composition of the system needs to be looked at to protect the economy's evolution.
"The key to this ongoing transition is going to be the need for good underlying policy to underpin this transition for a number of years," Mr Narev said on Wednesday as he unveiled the bank's record first half cash profit of $4.804 billion.
"Not debates about individual parts of the tax system, but debates about the tax system as a whole on the facts will be critical, as will the ongoing policies which support the development of critical infrastructure in Australia."
The federal government is set to announce its final tax policy in the May budget.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull this week shelved a proposal to raise the goods and services tax, saying economic modelling showed raising the broad-based levy was not economically feasible.
Mr Narev did not float any proposals for restructuring the tax system, but did point out that CBA paid over $3 billion in 2015, which represented more than 4.5 per cent of Australia's total income from corporate tax.
"There's a lot of conversation in Australia about a few companies people don't believe meet their tax burden, but what this shows is that a vast majority of companies in Australia are paying their corporate tax," Mr Narev said.
Low interest rates and the Australian dollar's fall to around 70 US cents was helping to stimulate construction activity and benefit export-sensitive industries including tourism, education and agriculture, he said.
"We must be cautious, but also remain focused on the long term to ensure that Australia remains a great place to live and to invest," he said.
But he warned that Australia still faced challenges from global volatility, which was behind the bank's decision not to raise its interim dividend despite a 3.92 per cent profit rise.
"We have maintained conservative settings," Mr Narev said.
"As we look at the world around us we think it is important not to overestimate the volatility, but we also need to realise that at times of volatility the strength of the balance sheet is more important than ever."
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