Marginal seat voters hardening against SA bank tax

Sydney, 21 July 2017: South Australians in key marginal seats remain opposed to the idea of the Government’s bank tax, with support for the tax weakening, a new Galaxy poll shows.

The latest poll commissioned by the Australian Bankers’ Association shows that almost half of voters in eight marginal seats are opposed to the tax and just a third support it.

“The ABA has said all along that this tax is bad policy that will damage the South Australian economy. This poll reinforces that there is still strong opposition to the policy, and for good reason,” ABA Chief Executive Anna Bligh said.

“The main reasons that people are against the tax is because they think it will increase costs for South Australians, affect investment in the state and reduce South Australia’s competitiveness compared to other states that don’t have the tax.

“The business community in South Australia has been very vocal in opposing the tax and they are being heard loud and clear by the public which wants jobs and growth, not a tax that will drive investment away,” she said.

Key findings of the poll include:

• Forty-seven per cent continue to oppose the tax, unchanged from the previous marginal seat poll conducted in June.
• Support for the tax has fallen from 38 per cent to just 34 per cent, while 19 per cent are undecided.
• Nearly half of Xenophon voters oppose the tax, while just 35 per cent support it.
• Among the major parties, 7 in 10 Liberal voters oppose the tax and remarkably, 1 in 4 Labor voters are also opposed.

“South Australians remain very concerned about the future of the state and the sooner this bad tax policy is abandoned, the better,” Ms Bligh said.

About the Galaxy poll

The telephone poll surveyed 800 people between 17 – 18 July across eight marginal seats in Adelaide: Elder, Dunstan, Colton, Hartley, Gibson, Mawson, Black and Adelaide.

This followed a similar poll conducted between 28 – 29 June.

ENDS

Contact: Stephanie Arena 0477 470 677