Banks reject call for new tax March 8, 2013 - 11:56AM The Australian Greens have proposed a tax on the big four banks in exchange for the federal government's protection to ensure they do not fail. The minor party proposes a levy of 0.2 per cent on all bank assets above $100 billion, which would apply to ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac. "It is time to ask the big banks that are making record profits to pay a fairer share to the community," Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt said on Friday. But the Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) said the majority of profits made by banks are returned to shareholders, a lot of whom are retail shareholders and superannuation funds. "Last year, banks paid out a record $19 billion in dividends - seven per cent more than 2011," ABA chief executive Steven Munchenberg said. In the past five years, banks have paid out $82 billion in dividends. A levy on assets, effectively the banks' loans, would also hurt small businesses and the economy, he said. "What you would find is there would be less incentive to lend to small businesses, or we would have to increase the prices at which we lend," Mr Munchenberg said. Anything to make it even less attractive to lend to them, or to make it more expensive when we lend to them, you are effectively at risk of reducing the supply of credit to a vital part of the economy.