Tax

[Jack E]

Inspired by Iain's joke

Is anybody else happy about the new tax cuts?
I am recieving a significant reduction in the amount of tax I will pay over the next few years but am sick of hearing about the people on lower incomes whinging about how good I have it.
Yes I am saving a whole lot more money than others but that is only because I pay a whole lot more than them in the first place.
Not only that, I don't use many of the services I pay for with my taxes.

I think the government should tax everybody at a flat rate of 10%, no rebates, no concessions, no deductions, no exceptions.
If this were the case the high earners would not need to "hide" money, as is the case now, to circumvent an unfair Robin Hood style tax system (by Robin Hood I mean STEALING from the rich to GIVE to the poor).
There would be a whole lot more tax paid and it would be a fair system, you earn $10, you pay $1 tax, simple.
Another benefit would be that if the are no rebates, deductions etc, we could do away with a large chunk of the ATO which would save the country even more money!!

Just another little rant, on the topic of student unions.
I heard a student say the other day that if student unions were no longer compulsory, many students would use facilities and services paid for voluntarily by other students.
Is this not very similar to the way students at the moment use facilities and services paid for unwillingly by other students who do not use them.
These whinging students are probably the same people who end up on low incomes and then complain about the rich not being taxed enough!

BTW, my partner was at Uni for 7 years and never once used a service provided by the student union, but did pay 7 years of union fees.

I think it is about time people realised that if you want something, you have to pay for it!

Thanks for letting me vent my anger,

Jack

[Dan]

Is anybody else happy about the new tax cuts?

Yes, but then I'm a wicked high income earning electrician.

[Rusty]

Jack, perhaps you misread Iain's post. It's the poor people who are supposed to do the whinging.

[craigb]

I thought that we weren't supposed to talk politics. :confused:

You'll give conniptions

Craig (who's not lining up to give his tax cut back )

[silentC]

Jack, Jack, Jack, you just don't get it, do you?

The idea of the current tax system is perfectly simple. The sliding scale allows the Government to make the appearance of being harder on the high income earners (stealing from the rich). Meanwhile, the system of deductions, rebates and other loopholes allows the rich to escape paying the extra tax. If you want to change the system so that Kerry actually has to pay more tax (I bet he doesn't pay anything like 10%), you will just force him to shut up shop here and move somewhere with a nicer climate. Then where would we be?

And yes, if you are getting a significant tax cut, then you have it good. Me too but at least I acknowledge it

We wont go into the whole "I don't use the services" argument. Everybody knows that the people who need it the most contribute the least, that's the nature of a social welfare system.

[bitingmidge]

Course I'm happy!



P (but I agree with you Jack!)

[adrian]

I like the idea of a 10% flat rate of tax because, not only will I never have to pay tax again, but the government will have to give me money.
Not that I pay tax anyway.

[Iain]

10% flate rate, never going to happen here Comrade
As for student unions, I endured those for years and the only thing I saw come out of those was the funded pot smoking sessions at weekends.
I thought uni was for the more intellectual elite, who should be able to look after themselves without the need for union intervention, although I found it varied from uni to uni.
I never went to LaTrobe, only Melbourne where everyone was well behaved and some post grad work at MOnash where we kept to ourselves anyway.
Never really figured out what a student union was.

[nic]

Inspired by Iain's joke

I think the government should tax everybody at a flat rate of 10%, no rebates, no concessions, no deductions, no exceptions.
Jack

They did that ages ago, it's called the GST

And as Bond or Packer said "I wouldn't mind paying more tax if the gvt spent it wisely" But I guess that's not about to happen

Nic

[Iain]

They did that ages ago, it's called the GST

And as Bond or Packer said "I wouldn't mind paying more tax if the gvt spent it wisely" But I guess that's not about to happen

Nic

At risk of being a pedant GST is only a sales tax, not income or other little hidden nasties.

[silentC]

They did that ages ago, it's called the GST

Actually, what we're talking about here is income tax.

The GST replaced sales tax and various other taxes and duties imposed by State & Federal Governments on goods and services. That worked well, too didn't it? It was supposed to stop the 'blackmarket' trade. Hah! It was supposed to eliminate stamp duties. As if!! It was meant to provide extra revenue to the States so they could fix up the hospitals, schools and the roads. Yeah, right!!!

What did it really do? It made life more complicated for a lot of businesses and drove a few to the wall. We still pay stamp duty and the State government still cries poor.

Kerry Packer pays GST on everything the same as we do I'll bet he wouldn't volunteer to pay more income tax, whether it was spent wisely or no.

[nic]

At risk of being a pedant GST is only a sales tax, not income or other little hidden nasties.

Technically yes, but don't you need to buy things to live ?
From where I stand giving them tax on you income or giving them tax when you spend that income is the same. Unless you never spend anything, but then how do you live ?
Income tax is only part of it, you can't split up the 2 (direct & indirect taxes)

"THEY" don't wan't you to see it that way , quick tinfoil hats on

Nic

[dan_tom]

Hi Jack E

I am surprised that your wife does not know what student unions provide, given that she has been at university for 7 years! I have been enrolled in various courses (undergraduate and postgraduate) for a few more years than that (and before you ask... graduated them all and passed every single subject!) and am fully aware of what a university union or student guild can provide, given that they represent all students (including marginalised groups such as Women, Queer, International, Indigenous and those students with a disability). There are several that are conducive to improving social cohesion on campus, such as activities based events, environment, education and sport - without these many students would feel rather isolated on campus. Some universities offer "Life" memberships too...

I am sure anyone who has been to unversity would agree it is not just about getting a career qualification in the form of a degree - an education is about so much more than that. Being a university student is a unique phase of life in which many lifelong friendships and networks are established, where our political opinions and ideologies develop and change, where we can engage in freedom of expression and the free flow of ideas, debates about the meaning of life and the role of society. This must be nourished and protected if society is to grow and become richer. I think that Student Unions are absolutely vital in providing a sense of campus community and campus culture at university. The activities and events the Guild runs are an essential part of university life. Just think how dull and dismal university would be without O'Week celebrations, without any clubs or societies, without any of the bands, BBQ's, markets, films, fiestas and forums run by the Guild.

The National Union of Students in its current form came into being in 1987 after the collapse of its predecessor, the Australian Union of Students, in 1984. It was formed at the same time that the Hawke government introduced the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (a system of deferred tuition payments), abolishing the free education system previously introduced by the Whitlam government. It shouldn't just be about the rich going to university, or city dwellers - but for all classes (through scholarships and opportunity), rural/remote, etc etc. It'd be boring if it was just rich white kids!

Quite often many of us do not use the services that our taxes pay for. I don't really want to use cancer and palliation services provided by the heatlh system, corrective services by the prison system etc...that my taxes pay for, but realise that these services are necessary for a functioning society where there is not extreme health and welfare inequities that set this country apart from others.

I'd be all for rejecting the tax cuts and diverting them to where we desperately need it - working in health and education, I can see glaringly the health inequities and inequalities faced every day. Recently one of my patients was torn between providing food for her family or a new asthma medication for her son (whilst other folk zoom by in their fuel guzzling 4WDs adding to the very problem that causes asthma....). :confused:

Cheers
Dan

[adrian]

10% flate rate, never going to happen here Comrade

I don't know what the "Comrade" bit was about but I was being facetious.
Kerry Packer and the ultra rich would love a flat tax rate.
If he had one billion dollars worth of PBL shares he would earn $37 million a year from dividends. The company pays 30% tax and shareholders get that as franking credits so under the present system he would only have to pay the difference of 17% tax because he was on the top rate. So effectively he would be paying the same tax rate as a wage earner on less than $20,000.
Under a 10% flat rate system, not only would he not pay the 17%, but he wouldn't pay ANY tax at all and the tax office would have to give him back 60% of the 30% tax that the company paid on their profits.
Under the new tax arrangement, a person will be able to earn up to $70,000 on investments such as this and never have to pay a cent in tax.
Any person who thinks that rich people pay a lot of tax is severely misinformed. Wage earners are the only ones who pay high taxes on high incomes.

[Iain]

I don't know what the "Comrade" bit was about but I was being facetious.

So was I, equality for all, animal farm etc........from he who drives a fuel guzzling 4WD for a reason, not like the pollies who have one huge V8 limo each when they finish a sitting, can't they car pool, the food additives which I believe are a major contribution to asthma, and I have one daughter who suffers from this, people who won't car pool, oil burners who think it's OK, cockies spraying on windy days, objectors to wind farms, I'm sure the birds soon learn that they do hurt if you try to go through one, oil companies ripping us off blind, so the list goes on but it's all good for the Government who I notice won't put a ban on smoking and associated products.