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		</div><p><a href="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/flood-tax-bill-before-parliament.jpg"><img class="alignnone size-full" title="Australia's prime minister Julia Gillard has introduced tax legislation to Parliament" src="http://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/min-flood-tax-bill-before-parliament.jpg" alt="Australia's prime minister Julia Gillard has introduced tax legislation to Parliament"/></a></p>
<p>Australia&#8217;s prime minister has introduced tax legislation to Parliament that would help pay for record storm and flood damage, as debate raged about whether the government should instead cut foreign aid.</p>
<p>Prime minister Julia Gillard said the government&#8217;s bill for roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged by weeks of flooding in north-east Queensland state was at least 5.6 billion dollars (£3.4 billion). Her proposed new income taxes would raise 1.8 billion dollars (£1.1 billion).</p>
<p>The cost of the damage from a major cyclone that struck Queensland&#8217;s coast last week &#8211; compounding the flood losses and leaving almost three quarters of the state a disaster area &#8211; has yet to be calculated.</p>
<p>&#8220;In committing to rebuild, we accept that this may well prove to be the most expensive season of natural disasters our nation has ever known,&#8221; Ms Gillard told Parliament.</p>
<p>The legislation will be scrutinised by a parliamentary committee before lawmakers vote on it in a few weeks.</p>
<p>Ms Gillard&#8217;s Labour Party does not hold a majority in either Australia&#8217;s House of Representatives or Senate, but the bill will probably pass with the support of independent politicians and legislators from the minor Greens party.</p>
<p>The main opposition coalition has dismissed the tax as unnecessary, and called on Ms Gillard&#8217;s government to find two billion US dollars (£1.2 billion) from spending cuts, including 448 million US dollars (£278 million) promised to build schools in Indonesia.</p>
<p>In proposing the cuts in foreign aid on Tuesday, opposition leader Tony Abbott said the government should give priority to rebuilding ruined schools in Australia.</p>
<p>Thirty-five people in Queensland died in floods that destroyed more than 35,000 homes.</p>
<p>The disaster tax would take effect in July and would apply to people who earn more than 50,000 dollars (£31,000). Disaster victims would be exempt. The government has proposed to raise the remaining 3.8 billion dollars (£2.3 billion) needed for disaster rebuilding through cutbacks in areas including clean energy programmes and by deferring some promised infrastructure projects.</p>
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