A full 10 per cent GST will be applied to almost every facet of sport and recreation in Australia, including the activities of school age children who do not earn a taxable income and are participating in healthy community activities, the Shadow Minister for Sport, Senator Kate Lundy, said today.
“The most unfair and inequitable aspect of the GST is that essential activities, such as teaching your children basic water safety and survival skills, are being taxed – in this case twice. The GST is going to be applied to both the cost of entry into a swimming pool and the cost of learn-to-swim classes.
“The GST is also being applied to all coaching classes, with the Australian Coaching Council having already notified members that fees will rise by a full 10 per cent from 1 July.
“Aerobics classes, health and fitness centres, personal trainers, health clubs, fitness consultants and gym fees will all cost 10 per cent more.
“It’s a tax on all coaching and training courses, and if you want to do something beneficial, like becoming a junior umpire or referee – then you’ll pay the GST on that too.
“This unfair application of the GST is a disincentive to participate in a healthy lifestyle.
“Young people, who generally rely on their parents to pay for their sporting activities are being unjustly made to pay the GST. For example, young children refereeing junior soccer games are being levied the full 10 per cent GST on their registration fees.
“Junior footy programs, like Auskick, which targets children in the 7-10-year age group to increase their health and provide supervised social interaction, are having their subscription fees raised by 10 per cent.
“Many small sporting clubs are already hiking up their registration and membership fees by over 10 per cent to compensate for the fact that they cannot claim their inputs back through any other mechanism.
“The sporting goods industry has also confirmed that most sporting items, such as equipment and uniforms, will rise by the full 10 per cent from July 1. For example, cricket gear such as gloves, spikes, pads and helmets will be going up by 10 per cent, according to manufacturers.
“This is the Howard-Lees new tax system – a tax on people involved in healthy activities that benefit themselves and the Australian community,” Senator Lundy said.
Contact: Simon Tatz on 02-62773879 or 0418 488295
