Back in 2016, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull proposed allowing the states to levy their own income taxes so that they can pay for their own services, such as hospitals and education. However, the proposal was viewed with skepticism by the states, as noted by Fairfax’s Mark Kenny at the time:
While outwardly wanting to appear constructive, premiers are deeply sceptical about the idea, regarding its future implementation as highly problematic, and viewing its emergence onto the COAG agenda now as a deliberate pre-election distraction by the federal government designed to “throw a bone to the states” to keep them quiet…
One leader described it as “scrabbling about in the desperate search for an agenda”…
