The politics of political leaks
By
Kate Kachor
Mon 01 Feb 2010
The leaks from the Henry review have caused a few concerns for Australia's financial services industry.
While Henry, his mate Cooper and their cousin Ripoll have not caused a stir to warrant fencing them in a la Watergate, the industry reviews are beginning to pinch.
Last week, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) called on the government to release the findings of the Henry review, with consumer confusion atop a list of its concerns.
"I think with so many leaks and so much speculation and with clearly some sources indicating that they've seen the review, it's time for the government to issue it so that we can all prepare our response," ASFA chief executive Pauline Vamos said at the time.
According to accountantsRus chief executive Adrian Raftery, since the Henry review was delivered to Treasurer Wayne Swan last month, accountants have been inundated with queries as leaks emerge on issues such as superannuation access, capital gains tax (CGT) on family homes and fringe benefits tax for charities.
"Dr Henry and Mr Swan have been acting like little schoolboys with a big secret as they continue to provide snippets of information of the report to the public," Raftery said.
"As we have evidenced in recent federal budgets it seems to be a familiar trait [of the government] to leak out pockets of information to the public before the official announcement is made.
"I think everyone that owns a family home or has a superannuation fund deserves better."
He said it was ironic that the proposed changes to the tax system were slanted as improvements when he expected any changes would make it more complicated.
Voluntary tax returns would generally only affect the 2.2 million people who already used e-tax as those with more difficult returns would still need guidance for investment income, CGT and claiming work-related expenses greater than the proposed standard deduction, he said.
"Don't you think that if a business is facing a 40 per cent tax or a family facing a CGT liability on their home, that they won't try just a little bit harder to reduce that tax legitimately?" he said.
Despite the calls, the government has resisted releasing its tax report earlier.
While Raftery is not alone in his belief that the leaks indeed come from within the government, perhaps the interesting question should be, why leak? Why now?
Perhaps the leaks are the government's way of asking for further unofficial consultation?
Regardless of the reason, Henry needs to be released.
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