So we haven’t saved any money. We saved some and spent it instantly.
Seems as though we dont have enough to meet our expected standards.
1 Like
No system runs at 100% efficiency. Government will also take more risks for projects that have little to no return.
Seems the only way we could earn more money is oh, say own stuff and you know, use those profits to improve our lives…
Btw I’m being annoying. Just want to see solutions to problems. Anyone can say don’t do it but rarely are there other solutions offered.
Think of it like trying to manage Essendon to win a final.
It effectively is – not coming in until after the next election.
Whether the LNP will actually object to it is yet to be seen.
People won’t even remember it at the next election. There will be many more high profile issues and social wedge issues that will be front of mind.
It’s not simply a matter of the amount of tax, it’s who pays the tax and what it’s levied on, and what gets exempted or rebated, as well as who gets what subsidies or benefits.
Australia’s tax/benefit system is extraordinarily generous to well-off retirees, property owners, and resource companies. It’s brutally punitive to tertiary students, young people, the unemployed or underemployed, and people without family wealth.
You say that govt should set the framework for the economy to grow. Well, we’re not doing that with our current tax system. We encourage people to park their cash in investment properties rather than invest in businesses that might grow the economy. We heavily favour the stagnant perpetuation of inherited wealth, and continually underfund education, science, R&D, industry policy etc which is how economies value add and grow. And small businesses based in Australia, employing Australians, get slugged while big multinationals play all sorts of creative accounting games and hardly pay anything. We give mineral resources away for basically free to wildly profitable foreign corporations, while we ensure that the long-term unemployed remain an unproductive underclass by not giving them enough to live on, literally driving them to homelessness or crime or squalor.
Even if you insist there should be no net change in the amount of tax raised, surely there’s room for redistribution of who pays it, and what it gets paid on?
9 Likes
The economic framework is more than the government taxing PAYG people or small investors. That’s my point. Very little positive change on the economy is achieved. They barely look past taxing the easy targets.
Many of the points you mentioned need to be looked at by governments to encourage investment and to also tax where it’s appropriate.
They all don’t do it and that’s my point.
2 Likes
Umm, if it is a % of course it keeps up with inflation!!!
1 Like
Citation required.
They do, but the wealthy have much better Accountants than the Finance Dept or ATO, so pay no tax.
The hallmark of our Capitalist Economy.
1 Like
Depends what the tax is levied on, and depends on what’s driving inflation.
For instance, a big chunk of the inflation we’ve seen over the past few years is housing costs. GST doesn’t apply to rent, house purchases, or mortgage payments, so it hasn’t scaled up there. And if wages don’t rise in line with inflation but taxes do, then all you’re doing is shoving wage-earners further behind the curve (and wages have grown FAR slower than productivity and corporate profits over the past 20 years anyway)
1 Like
or the ATO don’t have the balls to go after tjhe multi nationals sending profits off shore.
Simple answer is increase GST. Say GST is 20%, then 20% of iphone purchase goes to aus tax. before they insert a line item to canary islands for i.p costs or whatever and pay no income tax . Everyone will whinge though.
VAT in UK is 20%
Due to increase in GST, would need to reduce income taxes and increase social security.
i’m sure companies definitely wouldn’t immediately increase prices
1 Like
GST is a dumb tax.
I buy something and then because I am GST registered I claim back all the GST that I can. Even if I never sell anything and charge GST, I can still claim it back.
It would be better if there was GST on everything and no claiming anything back.
1 Like
Absolutely.
Every cent extra of tax I have to pay will be coming out of someone else’s pocket. Will absolutely pass it on
Australia has now has the 3rd highest cost of beer in the world.
Meanwhile Australian Wine is the 6th cheapest in the world.
Why does beer have such high taxes?
Politicians drink more wine than beer.
Or the Wine industry do their lobbying work better.
1 Like
Beer and tobacco are excise taxes, linked to inflation. Beer is based on the alcohol content.
Wine is subject to the Wine Equalisation Tax ( a sop to winemakers) based on the wholesale value of the wine.
As I understood it at the time, the WET actually increased wine prices because when “Honest” Johnny brought in the GST wine prices should have went down with the removal of other taxes. So Johnny had to whack on an extra tax - just because.
I’m a beer drinker. But I’ve been drinking more wine over the last few years…… it’s far cheaper.
Local Microbreweries are dying because of prices
1 Like