The rate of GST is currently 10 per cent. The Fairfax-Ipsos poll found support for a GST hike among the general population has jumped from 30 per cent to 37 per cent in the last 12 months. It continues a steady increase from late 2012, when just 12 per cent of the population supported a GST increase. It appears constant talk from Canberra of the need for a balanced budget has had an effect, with some voters saying they had not previously wanted the GST to rise but they now think it should be done.

The Abbott government has said repeatedly it will not push for an increase in the rate or base of the GST unless every state and territory government supports the idea. But the issue has been kept alive over the last year by numerous government inquiries, including on the nature of Australia's Commonwealth-state relations and the future of the taxation system. Prominent economists such as the Grattan Institute's John Daley have also repeatedly argued that Commonwealth government finances would benefit if the GST was applied to more goods and the rate was raised. And last week Treasurer Joe Hockey revealed state and territory premiers had agreed in principle to extend the GST to cover music and movie downloads, and online imports worth less than $1000, to help improve the "integrity" of the tax and reap billions of extra dollars in revenues. The national poll of 1404 respondents, taken between Thursday and Saturday last week, found support for a GST hike is significantly higher among people living on household incomes of over $100,000 per year (46 per cent in favour), compared to those on lower incomes (32 per cent support among those earning $40,000-$100,000, and 35 per cent support among those earning less than $40,000).

Coalition supporters (49 per cent) are also more likely than Labor supporters (31 per cent) to think the GST should be increased, while more Greens supporters (34 per cent) than Labor supporters think the rate should be raised. Voters gave various reasons for their support for a hike. Pensioner Margaret Robinson, 74, told Fairfax Media she had not considered a GST rise before the last election but now believed an increase was needed to balance the budget. She also said she was not concerned about a rise causing cost-of-living pressures, despite living on an aged pension. "I would feel confident that the government would make allowances in the pension for that," she said. Helicopter pilot Paul Cross, who works for the oil and gas industry, and earns more than $150,000 a year, said raising the GST to 15 per cent would be fairer than reforming income tax.

Retiree Peter Telford said he did not want taxes to increase, but raising the GST was a better way to address the budget deficit. "I'm not totally committed to any form of tax increase but we have to address that we have a problem to solve," the 77-year-old said. The poll found Coalition supporters are almost divided evenly on the issue, with 49 per cent supporting a GST increase and 46 opposing the idea. Labor voters are less divided, with 67 per cent opposing the idea and 31 per cent supporting it, while 61 per cent of Green voters oppose the idea, and 34 per cent support it. Despite questions about the appropriate level of the GST, state and territory premiers were last week unable to agree on how the GST pie should be carved up and distributed among the states. The meeting of state and territory leaders ended in stalemate after Western Australia refused to accept a decision by the Commonwealth Grants Commission to hand the WA government just 29.9 cents back next financial year on each GST dollar raised in that state.

Finance Minister Mathias Cormann argued on Sunday that the commission's decision was so bad it would require a political decision to fix.