Commonwealth Bank CEO under fire over GST change that would increase the price of everything in Australia

By NICHOLAS COMINO, POLITICAL REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 02:51, 17 August 2026 | Updated: 02:51, 17 August 2026 Pauline Hanson has accused the Commonwealth Bank CEO of being out of touch for throwing his support behind raising the goods and services tax (GST).  The One Nation leader took to X on Monday to deliver the blistering takedown after Matt Comyn agreed it should be increased as part of broader tax reforms. 'Only someone completely insulated from the cost-of-living crisis could think Australians should pay even more for everyday essentials and the materials that build homes,' Hanson said. She warned that increasing the GST would add further pressure to households already grappling with rising living costs. 'That would mean more tax on power bills, petrol, nappies, toilet paper, school shoes, insurance and home building materials,' Hanson said. Comyn made the endorsement on ABC Radio last week, when he argued for raising the GST and reducing the country's reliance on income tax. He was asked if he supported a higher GST because 'income is taxed too highly and consumption too low'. Pauline Hanson took to X on Monday to deliver the blistering takedown after Matt Comyn (pictured) agreed it should be increased as part of broader tax reforms Comyn has previously called for lifting the GST from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, combining it with a simpler tax system and lower income tax rates. Supporters of the change claim it would address bracket creep, which sees workers pushed into higher tax brackets as their wages rise. But Hanson insisted that Australians were already under enormous financial pressure and should not face higher taxes on everyday spending. 'Jim Chalmers doesn't need any help finding new ways to tax Australians,' she said. 'Australians have only gone backwards on Labor's watch. Rent, insurance and groceries are increasingly unaffordable, while Labor's reckless spending keeps pressure on inflation and racks up debt that today's children will be left to repay.' Hanson criticised Treasurer Jim Chalmers, claiming he is backing policies that would worsen the cost-of-living crisis. 'Instead of taking responsibility for the mess, Chalmers is now entertaining calls from a big bank CEO to raise the GST and make the cost of living even worse,' she said. 'The last thing our country needs is Jim Chalmers reaching even deeper into the pockets of working Australians.' Hanson warned that increasing the GST would add further pressure to households already grappling with rising living costs  Last week, Commonwealth Bank reported a record cash profit of $10.98 billion for 2025-26, a rise of 7 per cent on the previous year. The bank also posted a statutory net profit after tax of $10.91 billion, confirming its place as Australia's largest and most profitable lender. Hanson also referenced a recent payment outage to criticise Commonwealth Bank, arguing the bank should focus on delivering reliable services rather than advocating for higher taxes.  The outage on Saturday afternoon affected millions of Australians who use Mastercard, with some customers unable to complete purchases or payments. Mastercard later confirmed a scheduled system update had caused the disruption. 'A scheduled system update caused Mastercard transactions to be declined for a period of time earlier today,' a Mastercard spokesperson said. Hanson said the outage highlighted the need for banks to prioritise their customers. 'Meanwhile, the payment network went down over the weekend, leaving Commonwealth Bank customers unable to pay for their power bills, petrol, nappies, toilet paper, school shoes, insurance or home building materials,' she said. Hanson insisted Australians were already under enormous financial pressure and should not face higher taxes on everyday spending (stock image) She argued Commonwealth Bank should focus on ensuring customers can access their money and make payments when needed. 'Perhaps Commonwealth Bank should spend more time making sure its customers can actually make payments and less time pushing the Treasurer to make everything they buy more expensive,' Hanson said. Last week, the Albanese government ruled out increasing the GST from 10 per cent and dismissed any suggestion it planned to change revenue-sharing arrangements for GST between the states and territories. The statement followed a report recommending reducing Western Australia's share of GST revenue and rolling back a Morrison government-era arrangement that guaranteed the state a larger portion of the tax pool. The report labelled the changes a 'costly mistake' and argued that they had distorted GST revenue distribution across the federation.