University vice chancellors have united against a proposed “Robin Hood tax” on billions of dollars in international student fees, which is being considered by a landmark review of tertiary education.
University of Newcastle vice chancellor Alex Zelinsky, with University of Technology Sydney vice chancellor Andrew Parfitt, first proposed the levy, which was then included by the expert-led Universities Accord panel in its interim report. “They are doing their advocacy behind closed doors,” he said. “I’ve kept my public argument because my university made an Accord submission about the concept. I haven’t heard a good argument back.
The Regional Universities Network, which represents seven universities, warned such a tax could erode the competitiveness of the international student industry. Murdoch University in Perth warned that the money generated by a levy would end up as government revenue and future governments may find increasing the levy a “handy way of generating additional revenue from non-voters”.