Guardian Essential poll shows most back tax measures such as the ‘Buffett rule’, a move both major parties have ruled out

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Most voters support a range of tax increases, including the “Buffett rule” and a minimum rate for multinational companies, while there is limited support for the Turnbull government’s $50bn corporate tax cut, the Guardian Essential poll has found.



Support for the two major parties continues to fall, with the Liberal party primary vote dropping 2% and Labor dropping 1%. Labor continues to lead the Coalition on a two-party-preferred basis by 53% to 47%.

The online survey, conducted between 10 and 13 March, also found support for both Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten sliding, while One Nation support climbed two percentage points to 11%, with a smaller rise (1%) for other minor parties and independents. The Greens stayed steady on 9% and Nick Xenophon and the National party were both steady at 3%.

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Of the 1,792 respondents polled, Essential found 33% approved of the job Turnbull was doing (down one point on the previous poll) while 50% disapproved (up one). This compares with a high of 56% approval for the prime minister in December 2015, three months after coming to the Liberal leadership.

Only 30% of those polled approved of the job Shorten was doing, unchanged since the last poll, compared with 49% who disapproved (up two). Shorten’s approval rating has continued to drop from a 47% high in March 2016, four months out from the July federal election.

Turnbull still leads Shorten as preferred prime minister by 38% to 26%, a shift from 39% to Shorten’s 25% since the last poll in February.

As support for the major parties continues to erode, the poll showed surprising support for tax rises – an area where major parties have traditionally feared to tread.

There was strong support (71%) for tax measures such as the Buffett rule, under which high earners pay a minimum tax rate. Only 11% opposed the measure.

Both major parties have ruled out the measure even though Labor’s left succeeded in raising the issue at the party’s 2015 national conference. For the first time last month, one of the party’s senior right wingers, former treasurer Wayne Swan, threw his support behind the measure.

But Shorten and his shadow treasurer, Chris Bowen, have continued to rule out adopting the tax. “We think that for sheer efficiency ... at this point reforming negative gearing is one of the best redistributive mechanisms we can do,” Shorten told a meeting in Canberra just over a week ago.

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The poll showed even higher support for tax measures that “stop companies and wealthy people using legal loopholes to minimise tax payments by sending funds offshore”. A total of 85% supported the measure and only 6% opposed, with the remainder undecided.

A total of 79% supported forcing multinational companies to pay a minimum tax rate on Australian earnings, with 8% opposed and the remainder undecided.

Another 64% supported increasing the income tax rate for high-income earners (with 21% opposed), while 41% supported the removal of negative gearing and 30% opposed it. Labor has pledged to end negative gearing on all but new houses and to cut the capital gains tax discount by 50%.

But 48% opposed the removal of current GST exemptions on food and education, with 39% supporting such a measure. Overall, 63% opposed any general increase in the GST.

Only 24% of respondents approved of the Coalition’s corporate tax cut, a drop of 4% since the last poll in February. As expected, the highest support for the tax cut was among Coalition voters (41%) but there was a high level of disapproval among voters who support “others” (55%), suggesting the policy might turn off those voting for minor parties such as One Nation.

Only 25% supported the statement that the corporate tax cut would create jobs and bring Australia into line with other countries, while 43% said the tax cut would simply create bigger profits and should be put into schools and hospitals. But a large proportion of respondents said they were unsure of the propositions.

The media continues to lose the trust of their readers with most categories continuing the decline. The most trusted media were ABC TV news and current affairs (59%), SBS TV news and current affairs (59%) and ABC radio news and current affairs (56%).

The least trusted were internet blogs (19%) and commercial radio talkback programs (34%). Since February last year, the main movements have been for news and opinion websites (with trust ratings down 8%), ABC TV news and current affairs (down 7%) and news and opinion in daily newspapers (down 7%).