Hanson Pushes Back on Proposal to Raise GST to 15 Percent

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson delivers her 2026-27 Budget Reply speech in the Senate chamber at Parliament House, Canberra, on May 14, 2026. AAP Image/Lukas CochOne Nation Leader Pauline Hanson has pushed back against the idea of increasing Australia’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate to 15 percent.Her comments follow Commonwealth Bank (CBA) CEO Matt Comyn expressing support for a higher GST rate.In an ABC radio interview on Aug. 13, Comyn said “yes, we would” when asked if he would support raising the tax.The GST is a tax applied to the sale of most goods and services in Australia and collected by businesses. Introduced in 2000, the current rate is 10 percent.Hanson argued increasing the tax would hurt Australians already dealing with a cost-of-living crisis.“That would mean more tax on power bills, petrol, nappies, toilet paper, school shoes, insurance and home building materials,” she said.“Only someone completely insulated from the cost-of-living crisis could think Australians should pay even more for everyday essentials and the materials that build homes.”In a separate post, Hanson said, Treasurer Jim Chalmers “doesn’t need any help” finding new ways to tax Australians.“Instead of taking responsibility for the mess, Chalmers is now entertaining calls from a big bank CEO to raise the GST and make the cost of living even worse,” she said.“The last thing our country need is Jim Chalmers reaching even deeper into the pockets of working Australians.”Chalmers has previously ruled out increasing the GST multiple times. At a press conference on Jan. 22, 2026, he said, “We’ve said we’re not looking to increase the GST.”After the International Monetary Fund suggested that Australia raise the GST rate in February 2026, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was not something the Labor government was contemplating.“We’ve made that clear on other occasions and as I said before in these IMF reports, often there are some ideas which are consistent with the government’s direction and some which are not,” he told reporters.“We’ve made it clear that we don’t intend to go down that path when it comes to the GST.”CBA reported a $10.9 billion net profit after tax in its latest full-year financial results.