Henry Report
You have got to wonder why we spent untold millions
of dollars to prepare a report that has been kept secret
for 4 months & largely ignored anyway. It was to have
reformed our whole tax system & bring us more in line
with most of the developed World. It hasn't. It has turned
into a just another tax grab. The larger mining companies
will not be happy to pay most of the $9 Billion in extra tax
& get a refund, in kind, of around $750 Million to pay for
infrastructure. Any international mining Company would
now, have to be having a very good look at moving to Hong
Kong, 16.5% or Singapore 18% tax, particularly when they
know that they are paying effectively 13% higher tax than
the big banks. I would love to be a fly on the wall at the next
Fortesque Board Meeting. It is also of note, that one of the
main reasons for the report was to get rid of as many of the
400 odd State taxes, as possible, that in many cases, cost
more to administer than they collect. It has got rid of none.
I wonder how many people in Western Australia, today, will be
discussing leaving the Commonwealth? The mining industry
of Western Australia is already paying the highest proportion
of tax in Australia & this super tax will potentially put them in
a wheel chair, when competing against their biggest
competitors in Brazil.
That is very interesting Tanwin. Was it just a rumor, or
was it substantiated. Whilst I would not put this past
either Party Machine,I would imagine that the Federal
Labor machine would want to keep something like this
very much at arms length.
It seems I have stumbled into a conservative minded site,
Am I to believe these people really believe that every one of those
in the henry report should be adopted??? or only the ones
that will punish the average person,
Do they want land tax on all homes instead of stamp duty?
Stamp duty comes in when buying, Land tax every year.
Include the family home in the means test??
Most people own their home but have little money.
Negative gearing does help provide homes for rent.
Accusing the government of bringing more in after
a election is like saying the kookaburra smuggling leader
wont do such a thing, Isn't he accusing the gov.of not
taking up all suggestions now, is that what he will do!!
God help us all, even conservatives. aseth.
The government has been very bold taking on the mining industry and I bet the WA Premier is in melt down - so will the shareholders. But let's think about it for a minute - assuming you don't hold any BHP shares, are you going to take the side of a big mining company, I'm certainly not - they rip billions of dollars worth of minerals out of OUR country and what do we get out of it - zip! I think Rudd in on a winner with this one, let the big boys pay their way for a change.
Oh dear Toot2000 - I see that this will be the sort of response all will take and it is not a good one for Australia at all. It is merely a way of getting more tax out of the mining industry - they already pay company tax on their profits or does everyone forget this - so those millions they make on selling resources reap a huge benefit to each and every one of us who live here.
Rudd is just pandering to the niggling jealousy in all of us who think they, the rich. do not pay their fair share of taxes and of course they dont - so not untrue that we all would like them to pay their fair share.
BUT mining companies do pay their fair share as they are companies not individuals. OK - get it. And if we piss them off and they take their company profits off to singers or Honkers as Innes suggested or put their exploration dollars (Many Jobs lost to Oz) into Venezuela Africa or Brazil what good does that do for those who supposedly may just get one year of extra bit of super out of it before the bonanza dries up.
If any government wants more revenue putting up income tax on the top end of town and closing the many loops that have developed to avoid tax and also making accountants accountable for tax avoidance in the same sum of the avoider would gain us millions maybe billions as salaries and tax avoidance is huge business figures these days and even collecting the outstanding taxes due which were 800 million Rudd said and how much has he collected of it? Who knows - but has he allowed for more tax collectors - bet not as he has been busy putting on people for the abandoned ETS on huge salaries and had 447 working on it - now they could have done a better job working on tax collection and avoidance imo.
Had to laugh this am on ABC2 Breakfast when Wayne Swan was waxing lyrical about how he had made sure that 'hysterically' they would not implement any rises in taxation once re-elected when asked re the tax on residences suggested. He of course meant to say historically but was this a Freudian slip of the tongue since I trust him as far as I can throw an elephant methinks his conscience gave him away.
Yep yet another election winning plan to be implements in the future for those who are now working and earning by age pensioners standards of pay during their working lives - huge salaries but they will most likely fall for the rhetoric and unless someone stops them we Australia will be in the poo once the miners desert us they already pay 12%+ more tax on their profits than most other countries charge.
As for more super - that needs fixing quick smart in that most of it is being paid out far too early and used up then they go on the age pension and to keep paying in taxpayer funds towards super that people themselves are not paying in any of their own funds is not going to help at all. Most will still be drawing the pension or part thereof as will all the wankers who have never ever worked and never ever intend so to do and there are quite a few - bet everyone who comes here knows at least one or two.
We do have a small population by world standards so our taxes by comparison will be higher but we also cannot sustain a huge population either as short of water and arable land to feed them all and once we lose the capacity to feed ourselves - leave us wide open to a takeover by blocking our food supplies. already building desalination plants to use sea water and also recycled sewer water for drinking and other needs of the cities - as we have also stolen water from farming to accommodate more and more arrivals in the main cities. Housing short services like hospitals need more money to cope with so many arrivals and baby boom and we must not be bamboozled by quick band aid measure like take the money off the miners - they pay for a lot - sadly much of the royalties that once went into state coffers for benefit of all of us now go to the traditional land owners since the Marbo case and so no longer are of use to the rest of us - but the companies will now be able to tax deduct these so once again we will lose out and most of the media has not bothered to tell of that as they want Labor to win again.
And so this should be consigned to the insulation bungle the green bungle the ETS bungle and school hall bungle the health bungle yet to come and so one and so forth as anyone still thinking this lot can actually deliver and not waste more dollars has more than made up for the Mensa forecast(70's) of the dumbing down of the western world.
It seems I have stumbled into a conservative minded site,
Ahh Seth you have been reading what the 'others' have had to say next door. We examine what the Federal government is doing (and the Opposition too) and give criticism where due, and lets face it the Federal government is well worthy of it. Unless you are simply out to cause trouble here?
David Koch referred to the tax changes on this morning's TV as a "chance wasted"
Accusing the government of bringing more in after a election is like saying the kookaburra smuggling leader wont do such a thing, Isn’t he accusing the gov.of not
taking up all suggestions now, is that what he will do!!
God help us all, even conservatives. aseth.
Before you blow a gasket Seth, I was 'tipping' the more unpopular ones would be introduced IF Rudd wins the next election, because now would be bad timing as they stink!. What kookaburras are to do with it escapes me, unless you are referring to Abbott, whom has asked the same as everyone else -- after spending Million$ why did they sit on it for for several months refusing to table it?
I wonder if next in line are the Banks? They seem to make $quillions in profits.
Val, according to the London Times today, Kevin Rudd says that royalties paid by the big miners have not kept pace with companies' profits and that over the past five years taxpayers have been short-changed to the tune of A$35 billion by the mining industry. I find this easy to believe.
Interestingly, they also said that because of the demand for iron and coal from India, China and other parts of Asia, it helped our economy to ride out the global downturn better than any other advanced economy. I agree on that one.
Marius Kloppers, BHP's chief executive said “If implemented, these proposals seriously threaten Australia’s competitiveness, jeopardise future investments and will adversely impact the future wealth and standard of living of all Australians.” And this ties in with your thinking Val and it sounds very feasible to me.
This is a huge bombshell to get your head around and I'm still ruminating.
It is easy to "bag" new taxes and increases on current taxes - e.g., the increased duty on cigarettes. THIS proposed tax on the mining industry however seems to me to be both sensible and fair. It is a tax on SUPER profits so if the companies are not so profitable, there will be little to tax. In my view, the largely foreign owned mining companies will be held to merely huge profits, rather than the OBSCENE profits they are generating now and every Australian will get a better slice of our countries resource wealth.
As has been noted, a great proportion of the profits generated from OUR resources are going overseas while WE have to bear the tax burden of providing infrastructure, services, amenities and the cost of government spending. It would be nice to have these multi-national conglomerates share more of that burden.
On the other hand, even the least cynical among us can see that it is a "tax grab" by a government that has a very poor spending record. "Tax reform"?...... we certainly didn't see it this week. If I were Ken Henry, I would be a very disappointed man.
You are quite correct, in most of what you say kfchugo, but I think we are on
different tangents. You have heard of killing the golden goose. You might
remember when the NSW government put on an exit tax on real estate
sales that was going to raise some 4 or 5 billion dollars for the State.
It effectively stopped residential real estate sales in NSW & not only
did NOT raise the expected funds, but reduced the sales so much that the
Stamp Duty income dropped over 30%. But it was wonderful for Queensland.
All NSW residential investors went North, but haven't come back yet.
I believe that most of the major mining companies in West Australia are
Australian & that is where the super tax will apply. It can't apply to the offshore
companies, because they only pay royalties not Australian tax. An executive
from BHP announced this afternoon that a number of major developements
have been cancelled to-day. This is sheer short sighted madness. I am
sure that there will be many Brazilions in church to-night sincerely praying
their thanks to Saint Kevin. I bet Colin Barnett is having some wonderful
discussions to-day with the New Staters. Even if this new super tax is
thrown out by the Upper House next year, the damage has already been
done. Remember NSW has still not recovered from the stupid exit tax
which was cancelled years ago. I sincerely hope that my take on this is
wrong, but I don't think so. We will see to our detriment.
Commodity prices after the global financial crisis have doubled and we don't get any share of it. It all goes to shareholders, most of whom are foreigners.
Share prices fell but this was mostly caused by the mining industry talking down its prospects which is what you would naturally expect them to do.
I think you will find this scaremongering talk of job losses and companies moving to Brazil will blow over and these companies will continue to make large profits for their overseas shareholders.
Talk of WA separating from the commonwealth is just that - talk.
The minerals boom will not last forever so what would they do when it is over - apply to rejoin Australia again ?
Don't we have a right to have the Henry report tabled, so that we can see what recommendations have been made, and more interestingly, bypassed.? Will we ever know what our tax dollars got for our money?
I do get concerned when Governments take the popular stand of hitting big business. These companies employ lots of people, mostly Australians, who pay taxes to the Australian Government. If I had millions of dollars and invested it in a company here, I would expect a handsome return for that gamble. After all it is a gamble. If, instead, I just put my millions in a bank, how many people would that employ? My return wouldn't be as big, but my money would be safe. Heaven help us if all the millionaires decide to bank their money instead of creating businesses that employ people, and in many cases, create a healthy export trade.
One item that I think they missed on is negative gearing.
Negative gearing allows wealthy people to avoid taxes while pushing up the price of housing for families.
I would have liked to see that done away with.
A bump in the road
I wonder how many people there are in super funds who are investing in major miners.
I'm tipping Innes that the 135 recommendations in the report contained some which would be very unpopular and will be sprung on the electorate IF Rudd wins the next election. Labor know they are on the nose and are trying to not rock the boat any more than need be.
There is mention today on Adelaide radio that the "federal government had their hands all over the dodgy how to vote cards and T shirts in SA recently".