JULY 22, 2015: PEOPLE don’t want a hip-pocket hit; they want to see governments live within their means.State premiers have gathered in Sydney today for a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) retreat.Some premiers are making noises about raising the GST, while others are suggested a hip-pocket hit by raising the Medicare levy.I’m opposed to both because people want governments to live within their means and stop wasteful spending.Premiers from NSW, Western Australia and South Australia are indicating that a 5% increase to the GST could be the best option to boost state coffers.The other prospect posed by the premiers of Victoria and Queensland is to raise the Medicare levy.Despite an election promise not to increase taxes, Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is talking support for an increase to the Medicare levy.Her Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews is suggesting a 1% increase, which would be a $1000 hit for a family earning $100,000 a year. That’s a nasty big tax rise by anyone’s measure.Annastacia Palaszczuk says she won’t entertain one tax hit, yet she’s happy to consider another one.The end result is the same; the average family’s bottom line suffers.The only way I would support a shift on the GST would be if there was a substantial reduction in income tax and protections put in place for pensioners.