'No easy paths': why calls grow for a GST hike

The GST rate should be raised and include all food items to pay down national debt, experts say. (Bianca De Marchi/AAP PHOTOS)

The GST should be raised and expanded to include more products in an attempt to pay down Australia's ballooning national debt, a respected think tank has urged.

The Grattan Institute has called for the federal government to lift the GST rate from 10 per cent to 15 per cent as part of an overhaul of the budget.