The brokers’ campaign to raise clients’ awareness about the level of state taxes and charges they are paying with their premiums is being stoutly resisted by Victorian Treasurer John Brumby. He is responding to letters to MPs demanding action on the issue with a stiff uppercut presumably designed to make the issue go away.

According to letters signed by Mr Brumby, stamp duty levied on premiums on top of all other charges is “a vital source of revenue for the Government, helping to fund such services as education, health and welfare, and was taken into account by the Commonwealth when it introduced the new tax arrangements including the GST”.

That might be news to many. He also said stamp duty on insurance “was never listed for abolition as part of the new tax arrangements”.

As for fire brigade levies imposed on premiums, Mr Brumby is equally blunt, saying the amount the insurers have to contribute “are completely independent of the Government”.

And he adds a comment that may signal the approach he would take if the Insurance Council’s current campaign to drop the levy goes public: “In the event that the amount companies collect exceeds the Government-required contribution… all surplus company revenue accrues to insurers and not the Government”.