Mr Howard,who had previously ruled out a GST,narrowly won the 1998 election promising the consumption tax would replace the wholesale tax system,deliver guaranteed revenue to the states and shift tax off personal income.
After Mr Howard struck a deal with the Australian Democrats to get the GST through the Senate,he,Mr Costello and the rest of the government had to focus on how to put in place the tax that started operation on July 1,2000.
The cabinet papers show how a decision had to be made about pubs that operated beyond midnight. Would a beer bought at 11.59pm have a different price because of the GST if it was purchased at 12.01am?
Ultimately,pubs were allowed to close off their tills with pre-GST prices even if they finished trading hours into the new financial year.
The Australian Tax Office came under pressure to increase the rollout of Australian Business Numbers to firms that were coming into the tax system because of the GST.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission was arguing well into the year with the then still partly government-owned Telstra over changes to the pricing of phone calls and other telephonic services.