Economists, accountants and bankers are urging the federal government to introduce a tax-free savings account, although Treasurer Wayne Swan has said that there will be no such announcement in this week’s budget. The accounts would be similar to schemes already operating in the UK, France and the Netherlands. ING Direct CEO Eric Drok, says that not all the savings focus should be on superannuation and more should be done to encourage savings that would be accessible in emergencies. “In the UK, people have saved a total of 127 billion pounds ($280 billion) in tax-free accounts that allow savings of up to 3,000 pounds a year. That’s about the same as Australia’s entire savings base,” he said. John Ross, director at accounting firm Grant Thornton, said that an account allowing $10,000 a year of savings tax-free would cost $4.8 billion over four years, assuming that 6.5 million people opened the accounts with $10,000 from the first day.