UNCHAIN OUR CHARITIES

The Australian Catholic Social Welfare Commission applauds the commitment made by Mr Beazley in the Budget Reply to address the destructive impact of the GST on charities if elected to Government.

The GST has been revealed not only to punish the poor, to be unfairly burdensome on the nation’s small businesses, but also to unjustly slug charities and prevent them from assisting the poor with emergency relief.

The National Director, Mr Toby O’Connor, said: "Under the New Tax System, charities must pay GST on emergency assistance items for disadvantaged people for which the charities are not compensated. Charities are caught up in a crippling administrative burden of GST red tape, which must be funded at the expense of services to clients."

The Commission appreciates Labor’s recognition of this burden and its guarantee to boost emergency relief funding by $45 million. This additional funding will allow charities to help vulnerable people pay for heating, clothing and other bills of clients in crisis situations.

"The Commission acknowledges that Labor’s plan for emergency relief funding is a down payment for GST rollback on the charitable sector. Labor has committed itself to the goal of removing charities from the GST web."

Mr O’Connor concluded: "It is now for the Government to demonstrate how it will respond to the challenge posed by Labor’s commitment to undo the damage inflicted by the GST regime on the most needy - and charities seeking to assist them. Charities must be removed from the GST web altogether."