Friday 20 March 2015

GetUp is putting together an alternative budget

GetUp is out to prove Abbott wrong that austerity is the only way to balance the federal budget. You can contribute to their effort here if you want. So far these are the main points of GetUp's fair budget:
  • Superannuation Tax Concessions. Instead of giving all the breaks to those at the top, give everyone the same 15% discount on the money that goes into their super. 
  • Fossil fuel subsidies. Cutting subsidies to polluting industries. It's bad enough there's no price on pollution, but we don't have to reward it with tax breaks. 
  • Super profits tax on banks. The big banks make inflated profits thanks to a lack of competition. A tax on those super profits would help compensate Australians for higher fees and charges. 
  • The Packer Rule. Thanks to tax loopholes and high priced accountants, Kerry Packer famously reduced his effective tax rate so he paid less tax than his gardener. "The Packer Rule" would put a cap on loopholes for high income earners, so they pay at least the same tax rate as middle-income Australians. 
  • Reform capital gains. Concessions on capital gains tax predominantly benefit the wealthy, who have a larger proportion of their income from investments. 
  • Reform negative gearing. Reform tax concessions for negative gearing so they only apply to new housing stock and last for ten years (and grandfather all currently geared properties for ten years). That will make housing more affordable, while still keeping the stimulus for new building and maintaining downward pressure on rents. 
  • Wealthy estates. Place an estate tax on large estates. more 
It's not rocket science really. Simply put, don't get some of the most vulnerable people in Australia to pay off the national debt. Don't get the average wage earner to carry the can. Get the high end of town to cough up and actually pay fuckin tax, and don't hand out $billions to the dying fossil fuel industry. Why is that so hard? Why do us punters have to drag the gov kicking and screaming to the bloody obvious? 

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