It may have been just another stunt but I doubt that he would have won that election without the boat people scare at that time. I did vote for him then, not because of the stunt but because I still believed in him at that time. A belief I can not, and do not, hold now.Nioka, I don't think you can reasonably say the only reason John Howard is still there is the fear of a flood of Asian boat people. On the whole people have relegated that to the category "oh well, another stunt, but that was then". .)
Kevin Rudd has announced major tax refunds for parents, offering up to 50 percent rebates for school expenses.
Labor will overhaul the tax system creating three rates of 15, 30 and 40 per cent by 2016 and will create an education fund by not paying the Coalition's tax cuts for the rich.
Labor will create a $2.3 billion education tax refund to help working families educating their children, Labor leader Kevin Rudd said today.
The education fund will be delivered by not paying the tax cuts for those earning over $180,000, outlined by John Howard and Peter Costello.
The announcement follows the Coalition's unveiling of $34 billion of tax cuts on Monday after announcing a $60 billion boost to the budget because of strong economic conditions.
Labor will create a $2.3 billion education tax refund to help working families educating their children, Mr Rudd said today.
"Labor will introduce a 50 per cent education tax refund for working families for their investment in their kids' education,'' Mr Rudd said.
"We believe this is important.''
The announcement follows the Coalition's unveiling of $34 billion of tax cuts on Monday after announcing a $60 billion boost to the budget because of strong economic conditions.
Ahead of the leaders’ debate on Sunday night, Mr Rudd had been under pressure to prove his economic credentials with more detailed proposals than Labor has laid out, in the lead up to the November 24 election.
The Coalition has outlined a $34 billion tax package after reporting a $60 billion surge in the budget position on Monday.
The Labor leader and his Treasury spokesman, Wayne Swan, have said they want to get the balance right between services and tax cuts.
They have declared they will not match all of John Howard’s spending promises ''dollar for dollar’’.
Any tax and welfare system must boost participation, increase simplicity, focus on working families, provide an incentive for those who want to work more, and increase international competitiveness, Labor has said.
FEDERAL Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd has announced what he calls Labor's long-term plan for tax.
Under Labor, tax rates would be 15 per cent, 30 per cent and 40 per cent.
Sky News said that according to its calculations, Labor's tax cuts would come in at $31 billion, compared to the Coalition's $34bn.
Mr Rudd said Labor's tax policy would be submitted to Treasury in appropriate, reasonable time.
Mr Rudd outlined a $2.3 billion plan to give tax breaks to families for education costs, as the first plank of a three-pronged tax reform plan under a Labor government.
"Labor will introduce a 50 per cent education tax refund for working families for their investment in their kids' education," he said.
Mr Rudd said parents of primary school students would be able to claim up to $750 of their outlay on education when they filed a tax return.
Parents of secondary school students would be able to claim up to $1500.
"The eligibility for this would extend to all those kids in Australia whose parents currently receive family tax benefit A and that's more than two million Australian kids," he said.
"And I'm advised about two-thirds of the nation's kids in total."
Parents would be eligible to claim tax rebates on equipment and resources purchased for educational purposes, Mr Rudd said.
"If mum and dad are spending money on buying a laptop, spending money on buying a home computer, spending money on...purchasing internet connection, education software printers and books those expenditures (they) will be eligible to claim the 50 per cent education tax refund that we are putting forward,'' Mr Rudd said.
Mr Rudd said the initiative coincides with Labor's national broadband plan.
"We need to equip our young people with the skills necessary to participate in the digital economy of the 21st century.''
My experience is that voters 18 - 25 tend to vote for whoever is already in power since they have no experience with the alternatives.
...
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/10/13/1191696241329.html[/URL]
Anyone who doesn't is a fool, simple.so do the pro-rudd people here also consider the tax cuts he proposes are bribes?
...
so do the pro-rudd people here also consider the tax cuts he proposes are bribes?
or is it only when evil johnny does it?
everything promised by anyone in the context of an election is a bribe.
the key is to have a good policy behind the bribe...
the policy i wanted to see, from both parties (given that we are going to get tax cuts regardless of the whether we want them or not)... is
a. simplification of the tax system
b. removal for too many thresholds...
so far, from what i can see, we have one less threshold with rudd... i.e. only 15, 30 and 40... Would like to see that reduced further... but this is a good start.
But, we have an extra set of deductions introduced... via childrens education expenses, which to me only further complicates the tax system...
There's little difference between Labor and Liberal at the federal level. Both parties are now conservative. Rudd says that the Howard Government is out of touch, yet most of Labor's own policies are very similar. One of the best examples of this is the release of its tax policy. IMO the perception is that they may well have waited for the release of the Liberals own tax plan and then copied the best parts of it.I'm very disappointed. All Labor has done is follow the Libs tax cuts, but shift some of the money from the rich to lower/middle class families. And then, it doesn't really matter what the plan is for 201X. There is going to be another election in 2010, so I'm sure they'll have new policies by then.
There are so many things they could've done with the money, e.g. better health, education. But no, they went for the "me-too" politics, which, I have to say, is one of the factors why Beazley never made it.
Oppositions are supposed to come up with different/better plans than the current government. If you can't do that, then why the hell would anyone bother voting you in just to have pretty much the same policies?
Nioka, I don't think you can reasonably say the only reason John Howard is still there is the fear of a flood of Asian boat people. On the whole people have relegated that to the category "oh well, another stunt, but that was then".
Yes, we are tough on them when it comes to elections, but so we should be. They need to be accountable.
Back to tax cuts versus services: an item on the news this morning that the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane is cutting 40 beds and (I think) 17 waiting lists purely because of lack of funds. This "40 beds" represents the lives of many more than 40 people, given the rapid turnover in hospitals these days. Shouldn't funding be increased so this doesn't happen rather than giving tax cuts for new plasma TV's etc? And yes, I know the hospitals are largely funded by the States, but the Federal component of the funding has not grown in line with that of the States.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?