The Turnbull government’s proposed ban on cash payments above $10,000 is a disturbing breach of right to privacy, an attack on the basic liberty of free exchange, and will worsen Australia’s red tape crisis. The aim of the ban, which was announced in the budget with other measures to tackle the “black economy”, is to prevent money laundering and tax cheats, ABCNews reported. These are genuine goals. However, there is nothing inherently immoral or harmful about cash. The government is punishing the vast majority who do nothing wrong in an ill-fated attempt to prevent a small number of people acting illegally. In practice, the ban will be ineffective and unenforceable. A transaction limit will not make criminals suddenly law-abiding citizens–they will flout the rules by using multiple smaller transactions and illegal bank accounts with stolen identities. The ban will, however, prevent the many genuine uses of cash, including keeping transactions private from prying eyes, avoiding credit card transaction fees, and the preference for physical cash over non-material digital currency.
