YOU can have a simple tax or electoral system, but it won’t be fair. You can have fair tax or electoral system, but it won’t be simple. Putting a 1 above the line on a Senate ballot paper is simple. But it is not fair. The Australian population has grasped that much, having been appalled by the election of micro-party senators on minuscule percentages of the primary vote. Continue reading “Simple but not fair. Fair but not simple”
Month: February 2016
Rule in. Rule out. Back to politics as usual
IT WAS a coincidence, but last week Australia’s population hit the 24 million mark doubling since 1968) and the Federal Opposition announced changes to the tax system that it hopes will make housing “more affordable”. Continue reading “Rule in. Rule out. Back to politics as usual”
Competitive federalism could get tax from the rich
MANY Australians bemoan the wasteful duplication of our federation. But there is an upside. Often a state or territory can achieve ground-breaking reform which might take a lot of extra time and effort for a large unitary state to do, if it could be done at all. Continue reading “Competitive federalism could get tax from the rich”
Middle income earners duped by tax system
IT IS a pity that it is considered OK to say, “I’m no good at maths.” An ABC TV news presenter said it this week, for example. The pity is that the more people get turned off by any news or commentary that requires a bit of arithmetic, let alone maths, the easier it is for governments and sharp people to rip them off. Never has this been truer than in the recent tax debate. Continue reading “Middle income earners duped by tax system”