He is at it again. Harvey Norman wades into the murky world of carbon tax claiming it will knock consumer confidence – and ultimately his bottom line.Harvey has joined a slew of big business names in their call on Julia Gillard to halt the tax her government is so bent on introducing, for now.
Business figures, Harvey included, want a delay until July 1st of next year and are calling for bigger compensation, in a submission from over 20 big name Australian businesses made to government’s climate change committee.
“As long as you’re up there making headlines with another tax, of course its going to affect consumer confidence,” Gerry Harvey said yesterday.
However, Climate Change Minister Greg Combet has insisted all proceeds raised form the tax will go back to the consumer.
“The government has committed to use every dollar raised by a carbon price paid by big polluting businesses to help people with any price impacts,” he stated in the media earlier this month.
The business heads also want a top up of the levels of compensation set by Kevin Rudd back in 2009, according to The Australian.
However, this is one fight that is bound to get messy. Opposition leader, Tony Abbott, has already gone on the offensive, campaigning in Gillard home ground of Melbourne against the introduction of the tax, the precise details of which have yet to be agreed.
This isn’t the first time Harvey has aired his views over Canberra’s tax regime, or lack of it.
Last year, he joined a band of retailers including Myer and David Jones calling for the introduction of a 10 percent GST tax to be levied on goods bought from international retailers online.
However, Harvey was forced to go mute after he received a backlash from annoyed consumers.
”Because of my profile, I then get all these threats and people hone in on me,” he said at the time.
