Where do our taxes go?

[Julia]

I work part time in a community organisation as an emergency relief counsellor, assessing requests for assistance with, e.g. food, electricity,
prescriptions, rent, from people who constitute the "disadvantaged" sector of our population.

Lots of these folk are genuinely having a really hard time - women escaping domestic violence, sexually abused young people - but sometimes I really have to swallow hard at the decisions some people make.

Yesterday; one 22 year old wanted food because he had spent his dole money on a new DVD player: one 40 odd year old had spent all his disability pension at the pub and then got hungry: one had got dudded in a heroin deal so couldn't pay his rent: a couple were in the area to spread the word of the Lord, were sure the Lord "would provide for them", but in the meantime they were getting damn hungry and would like a food voucher, etc, etc.

Just curious about your reactions to this sort of attitude to life?
Mostly when I suggest the possibility of looking for a job, I'm met with a blank stare.

Julia

 

[krisbarry]

Yes it is truely amazing how mis-managed welfare funds end up in the wrong hands.

Similar to weeks that the baby-bonuses were handed out and the pokies,pubs, electrical good stores and cigarette stores all got a work-out.

Ohh well at least the government has a slice of the pie in each of the above to re-collect it back through the pokie super tax surcharge, alcohol tax, cigarette tax and of course GST.

 

[Happy]

Last night I saw a segment about single mum being ‘worse of’ by going to work, rather than staying on pension.
Hallo?
Why we owe the single mums permanent pension is questionable.
Government should be bit tougher, maybe single mum pension is too high?
Maybe kid should be looked after by the state (21 century stolen generation) and mum allowed to work as much as she wants.

Some parts of Australia have 3 or more generations of permanently unemployable individuals.
Suppose flip side is that there would be more crime without the handouts.

But at least there would be bigger push to get US style safe suburbs; some call it different names.

 

[Knobby22]

Hey, we don't want to end up like the US.
The single mother example shows what is wrong with our tax system, not whether we should help desparate single mothers.

But on another vein, my parents use to live opposite a large family totally dependant on welfare. They had Foxtel connected and used to throw their furniture into the street once a year and get new stuff delivered by one of the major charities.

 

[tech/a]

Petrol has risen in 1 yr from 80c to $1.40
GST has risen from 8c to 14c.

YOUR TAX on petrol has risen 75%.

75% rise in Tax and not a whimper!

 

[Kauri]

With Little Johnnys proposed new security laws is it safe to whimper?

 

[Happy]

On a positive side, higher petrol tax, between other worthy things can support more single, desperate mothers.

 

[Knobby22]

Petrol has risen in 1 yr from 80c to $1.40
GST has risen from 8c to 14c.

YOUR TAX on petrol has risen 75%.

75% rise in Tax and not a whimper!

No it hasn't.
The federal excise tax has not moved. It was fixed during the last price rise and is no longer tied to the petrol price. The GST has increased from 8C to 14C which is 75% but that is only part of the story.

 

[Smurf1976]

Petrol has risen in 1 yr from 80c to $1.40
GST has risen from 8c to 14c.

YOUR TAX on petrol has risen 75%.

75% rise in Tax and not a whimper!

Just don't believe anyone that says inflation is under control. If you look at the past few years then the big cost items (for the average worker) have absolutely exploded in price. Petrol up 75% or so as you say and the biggest cost of all, houses, are even worse - up more than 100%. Then there's meat, fish...

I don't smoke but apparently cigarettes are up about 200% over the past decade.

Time for some honest inflation data IMO. And time for a bit less thin air money from the RBA under the "independent" orders of the government.

 

[tech/a]

On a positive side, higher petrol tax, between other worthy things can support more single, desperate mothers.

If they get it!
Government has a way of making $$$s disappear into thin air then telling everyone they havent the funds.

While I'm on RIPOFF's
Local government or Councils/shires.

Houses have risen 100% and the Valuer generals office has re valued properties.
Because of this my rates and everyone elses have increased 60%.
Council gets a 60% rise in revenue.PLUS they put rates up a further 5-8%
WHY?
60% in revenue extra---building approvals take 8 weeks.
WHY?---lack of staff.
Idiots without a basic understanding of running a profitable business--no ACCOUNTABILITY---like spending $50,000 in a court battle to force a resident to remove a $3000 shed. Incompetance beyond belief.

Do what QLD did and ban the bastards I say.
What use are they,what purpose do they serve??

 

[GreatPig]

Houses have risen 100% and the Valuer generals office has re valued properties

And now that prices are falling (at least here in Sydney), I suppose they'll conveniently not get around to revaluing until just after the next property boom .

GP

 

[clowboy]

What amazes me is that as a nation we just bend over backwards and take it.

I guess at the end of the day there is no real alternative.

The world really is going to hell in a handbasket.

I particullary like this one...(out of the new planed Anti-terrorist laws)

It will be an offence to leave luggage unatended.
Define luggage, define offence, define the penalty.

Hate to think that 15 years from now my kids might be at the mall shopping and leave a shopping bag on the ground next to a chair (while on the phone or going to the toilet or whatever) and next thing I get a call from the police station.

Oh well on the up side taxes will have to go up some more to pay for all these increased expenses.

 

[tech/a]

One of the reason we are so heavily taxed is POPULATION.

There are only around 23 million of us living on a continent the size of the US.

Ofcourse the origin of the TAX lie began in 1914 when taxes were introduced to finance the Australian war effort---to be removed at the end of the war.

Needless to say they were never removed. Another political lie.

 

[Happy]

Don’t despair, there might be even employment opportunity.

There might be little areas holding bags while somebody goes to do something else like toilet, movies or extra shopping.

On the other hand in view of Opposition comments, looks that John just doesn’t want the bag to go bum with no body attached to it.

 

[krisbarry]

I did hear something recently that the average full-time worker, now works for the ATO for at least the first 3-4 months of every year, then the rest is thier own. This has blown out considerable and is forcast to increase.

Maybe in the future it will be more like 5-6 months of the year.

I am finally beating the taxation system at their own game. I no longer work full-time, given that up, it ain't worth it for the high levels of tax.

I now work part-time (casual rate-much higher) meaning I have to work less hours for more money.

I contribute to my super using the co-contribution scheme, this now gives me free money up to $1,500 per year.

I have also borrowed money from the bank to trade on the stock market and the interest is deducted off my taxable income.

Pretty smart, and I have almost eliminated the need to pay tax, execpt for the GST and hidden taxes which are unavoidable for most.

There is always a better way, just do a little research and play the same game the ATO does, but better!

 

[Smurf1976]

Pretty smart, and I have almost eliminated the need to pay tax, execpt for the GST and hidden taxes which are unavoidable for most.

There is always a better way, just do a little research and play the same game the ATO does, but better!

IMO it's nearly always the right approach to ask yourself "what to do" in a given situation as you have rather than say "they should stop this...".

 

[clowboy]

By my understanding it is the first 7-8 months that an individual works for the government.

The real cost of tax is quoted in the 80% range.

as a basic example someone on a 30% tax rate is really paying 40% just by factoring in the GST. Add to this stamp duties, levies excises and all the other crap and the figure quickly skyrockets.

 

[krisbarry]

Yes that would most likely be true, I was only factoring in the tax that is withheld from wages, as a base rate.

There is a multitude of hidden taxes, levies, fees, charges that would account for the rest which would wipe out much of the rest.

 

[Smurf1976]

I lost all faith in governments and their economics when I found out that ideology is pursued regardless of consequence.

Specifically, a state government was going to outsource some work presently done in-house by government employees to the private sector. When all the costs of the in-house operation were added up it was found that the cheapest tender was fully three times the cost even before the administrative and supervisory costs were included.

They were going to waste a fortune of my taxes to give someone the sack just to pursue some "private is more efficient" ideology that in this case was so clearly wrong. Meanwhile they were going on about being short of money, sacking nurses etc. and needing to sell public assets!

And now the same mob is at it again spewing out the ideology about not knowing how to run a business (Telstra) and needing to sell it. More taxes about to be wasted...