The Victorian Greens will first read a new Bill that would introduce a 0.05% levy on the big banks to generate $16.5 billion in revenue over the next decade which the Greens say could be invested into direct cost of living measures for Victorians.
It comes as households anxiously await today's RBA announcement on interest rates, just days after Commonwealth Bank recorded a mammoth $5.1 billion profit in just six months.
The policy has been fully costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office to raise $16.5 billion over the next decade, and approximately $4.8 billion over forward estimates, or around $1.5 billion annually.
The Victorian Greens say the Bill is aimed at putting pressure on the Victorian Labor Government ahead of the fast approaching 2025 Budget, and that this is an opportunity for the new Treasurer to rein in the big banks while generating billions in revenue that could be invested into real cost of living relief for Victorians.
As stated by the Victorian Greens Economic Justice Spokesperson, Aiv Puglielli:
"Do you think it's reasonable that the big banks can rake in over $5 billion in profits in just six months while we can't even properly fund our public schools and hospitals?
"We're told that Victoria is broke, that we can't afford to upgrade our schools or build more public housing, or fix our health system, but the big banks are getting away scott free with cashing in on everyday Victorians.
"Banking lobbyists will come out swinging but the reality is that the banks can afford this when they're recording multi billion dollar record profits, paying their CEOs millions and we can't even properly fund our public services.
"With a budget around the corner, this levy is just one thing that we can do right now at the state level to hand a small amount of the big banks' super profits back to Victorians."
