(7 June 2010 – Australia) Cameron Clyne, National Australia Bank’s chief executive has said that should a debate arise over a super-profits tax on Australia’s banks he would happily engage.Mr Clyne said at a business lunch that banks suffered from a perception of ‘large numbers’.
There is a view from some in the community that the banks should pay more tax, Mr Clyne added.
As one of the banks NAB would be part of that debate, he said at the American Chamber of Commerce lunch in Adelaide.
The bank’s CEO said that banks cannot put their head in the sand over the matter and the question will be how do you define it?
Combined Australia’s Big Four banks recorded combined profits of A$13.69 billion last year alone.
While Mr Clyne admitted that the raw numbers appeared large, return of assets and equity ranked banks in the middle of the pack compared to many other companies.
A super tax cannot be constructed the raw numbers, so if people have a construct they want to talk about, the bank would be happy to be part of that debate, Mr Clyne noted.
NAB’s CEO also said that he thought banks paid a fair share of tax under the current structure.
According to the Australian Bankers Association website, Australian retail banks paid $9.7bn in tax in 2007.