Prime Minister Tony Abbott appears to be laying the groundwork for increasing the GST.
Having repeatedly said during the 2013 election campaign the coalition wouldn't raise the 10 per cent impost, a change now seems to be on the cards.
But he says any increase to the GST would have to be done in the context of broader changes to the tax system.
"The overall burden of tax must come down," Mr Abbott told 2GB Radio on Thursday.
That was something being looked at as part of the tax reform white paper and the government would have more to say on the issue in the months ahead.
"There is an efficiency argument for taxing earnings less and taxing spending more," Mr Abbott said.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten mocked the idea of a higher GST rate as the full extent of Mr Abbott's creativity for Australia.
The prime minister had promised 33 times there would no increase to the GST during the election campaign when he was chasing people's votes, he told reporters in Perth where he was campaigning in Canning before the September 19 by-election.
Since then unemployment has risen, economic growth was worryingly down, and the budget deficit had doubled.
"What does Mr Abbott do? He says my idea for the future is to make everyone pay more money," Mr Shorten said.
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