Inquiry into the Tax Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy Surcharge Thresholds) Bill 2008
Information about the Inquiry
On 18 June 2008, the Senate referred the provisions of the Tax Laws Amendment (Medicare Levy Surcharge Thresholds) Bill 2008 to the Senate Standing Committee on Economics for report not before 26 August 2008.
This bill increases the Medicare levy surcharge threshold for individuals from $50,000 to $100,000 and for couples from $100,000 to $150,000. The increased thresholds will apply from the 2008–09 year of income and later years of income.
The inquiry will examine:
- the impact of changes to the thresholds on the number of Australians with private health insurance (PHI), including an examination of how many will abandon their policies as a result and how many will not take up PHI in the future;
- the modelling underpinning the decision and the veracity of that modelling;
- the anticipated impact on PHI premiums and PHI products offered;
- the impact of the change on the cost of living and the consumer price index;
- including the threshold, PHI rebate and lifetime health cover on increasing PHI membership;
- the anticipated impact of changes to the threshold on:
- the public hospital system including waiting lists and the financial requirements of state governments;
- the ongoing viability of PHI, and
- private hospitals.
The Committee invites written submissions which should be sent to:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Economics
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia
The closing date for submissions is Monday, 7 July 2008. If you need an extension of time to make a submission, please contact the committee secretariat.
The Committee requests that where possible, submissions should also be provided by email to economics.sen@aph.gov.au preferably as MS Word or RTF format documents. Notes to assist in preparing submissions are available from the website https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/wit_sub/index.htm or telephone the Secretariat on 02 6277 3540, fax: 02 6277 5719, or e-mail at the above address.
Once the Committee accepts your submission, it becomes a confidential committee document and is protected by Parliamentary Privilege. You must not release your submission without the Committee's permission. If you do, it is not protected by Parliamentary Privilege. At some stage during the inquiry, the Committee normally makes submissions public. Please indicate if you want your submission to be kept confidential.
Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02 6277 7799). Adobe also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact the Committee Secretary.
If you need any further information, consult the Committee's website at https://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/economics_ctte/inquiries.htm or contact the Committee Secretary on (02) 6277 3540 (phone), (02) 6277 5719 (fax); or by email to economics.sen@aph.gov.au or by writing to the above address.
For further information, contact:
Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Economics
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia