Majority of Australians do not support goods tax hike: poll

The majority of Australian voters are opposed to an increae in the nation's Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 10 percent to 15 percent, a poll result showed on Monday.

The poll of 1837 voters, run by News Corp, found that 54 percent were opposed to an increase in the GST, whereas 37 percent were in favor of the higher tax, with 9 percent of the voters saying they were undecided.

The federal government has been seeking input on an overhaul of Australia's taxation system from state and territory leaders for months, with support for a hike of the GST steadily increasing.

The opposition has expressed concern that raising a fundamental tax like the GST would negatively affect low income households, but supporters have been quick to point out that a slight increase in the GST could raise billions of dollars and reduce Australia's crippling budget deficit.

A GST hike of 5 percent could raise as much as 30 billion U.S dollars, which could be used to fund healthcare and education.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said a GST hike was still the most likely course of action in regard to tax reform heading forward, and other leading OECD nations are already running with a 15 percent goods tax.

"What the prime minister said is that any conversation about how the tax system can be improved of course will also focus on the GST, because the GST is manifestly part of our tax system," Cormann told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday.

"What we are focused on right now is how we can improve the tax mix."

Cormann said no final decision had yet been made by the government in regards to tax reform, admitting it was seeking approval from all state and territory leaders before moving forward.

"That conversation is ongoing. We are considering all of the various proposals that are being put forward," he said. Enditem