Gittins: Just because you don’t understand it, doesn’t mean the ETS is badRemember the GST scare campaign? We’re seeing a similar thing now with Rudd’s ETS and Abbott’s alternative plan is just puffery. Don’t let fear of change drive us, writes Ross Gittins.
Gst
Great myths in Australian politics: GST almost cost Howard ’98 election
The GST didn’t nearly lose John Howard the election in 1998, instead it’s the only reason he stayed in office. Just check out the Newspoll ratings before the GST announcement, says Stephen Spencer.
Government ads: a case of self-promotion because they can
Outrage over government-funded political advertising has been going on for years, yet all governments — state and federal, Labor and Coalition alike — keep doing it, and voters rarely make them pay any price for it.
Costello: I can teach you a thing or two about tax reform
Peter Costello modestly lectures the Federal Government on what it can learn from his own tax reforms. “On no account should there be a tax on the family home,” he warns, lest we end up mimicking America’s subprime crash.
A hard, tough and brutal tax debate is brewing
Tax reform shouldn’t be easy. Yet it is not clear that any reform will actually flow from the Henry Review, writes Sinclair Davidson.
Gittins: voluntary carbon efforts now worthless
Rather than a moral issue, climate change and emissions policy has become purely about economics. Voluntary action by individuals or businesses to lower emissions will be worthless, writes Ross Gittins.
Will we really love Coles? Thoughts on a female-friendly publicity stunt
Is there much beyond Coles’ special no-tax tampon offer than clever marketing? Mel Campbell suspects not.
Ask the economists: Could a GST cut be coming?
Could the Rudd Government be contemplating a cut in the GST?Crikey asked a group of leading Australian economists if a cut in the rate of GST is the best hope for boosting growth:
Is carbon trading another GST?
Is an emissions trading scheme Kevin Rudd’s GST? asks Charles Richardson.
Rudd plays both PM and opposition leader on tax
Despite signalling a willingness to pursue a “root and branch” review of the taxation system, the PM pre-emptively ruled out reconsidering the GST rate, writes Bernard Keane.
Mungo: The dubious legacy of John Winston Howard
John Winston Howard was Australia’s second longest-serving Prime Minister, presiding almost unchallenged over the political landscape for well over a decade. His time in government can not be dismissed lightly. However it can be dismissed heavily, so here goes, writes Mungo MacCallum.
