In defence of taxesTaxes aren’t bad, says Joseph Heath, they’re just misunderstood.
Tax
Geithner’s loophole
Why would Obama go to such lengths to protect Timothy Geithner after revelations he avoided $35,000 in tax? Perhaps it was precisely for this ability to manoeuvre around the rules, suggests Timothy Carney.
Letter from...: Richmond, Virginia, USA
The elitist media and those in Congress and the White House who have been suggesting the rallies were orchestrated and faux-populist events ginned up by partisans and special interest groups are dead wrong, writes Karyn McDermott.
Texas governor puts secession on the table over tax
Texas Governor Rick Perry says that the state has the right to secede if Washington keeps taxing them at the same level and ramping up spending. But yes, it’s probably just an idle threat.
A long history of teabagging
The Tea Party Movement was started and is backed by major conservative think tanks, despite all the talk of grassroots organisation.
Political snippets: A word on so-called economic experts
Their views have become the staple diet of news services. On the hour, every hour we are treated to economic expert A from financial institution X, followed later in the day by Mr or Ms B from bank Y.
Slashing middle class welfare will hurt women
Here we go again — the ‘middle class welfare’ pink flag is raised to justify cutting payments which essentially go to women, writes Eva Cox.
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:
Gruen: Tax reform we can believe in? Count me in
Ken Henry’s speech yesterday contained some worthy ideas, writes Dr Nicholas Gruen.
Ken Henry a welcome addition to the public tax debate
Ken Henry’s appearance at the Press Club yesterday was a thing of wonder, writes Bernard Keane.
Coalition continues pushing money to rich pensioners
A $30 rise is not enough for the really poor pensioners with no income and is too much for those well off pensioners that Peter Costello stuck on the public tit in his last couple of budgets, writes Eva Cox.
Crikey Essay: Churches, tax and deniability
The Australian $80 billion not-for-profit sector is facing two reviews, one by Treasury and one by a Senate Committee, which entails a long overdue look at tax exemption for the unrelated-to-religion commercial businesses of the churches, writes Max Wallace.
Phoenix companies: a lurk on the rise
A showdown is looming between the Australian Taxation Office and Liquidators over the explosion in use of phoenix companies, writes Chris Seage.
The Lowy tax settlement: I was there
I know nothing about the Lowy tax case except what I have read about in the papers. But that particular day I will never forget. It was as if the tax office had lost its innocence, writes a former ATO officer who was there.
457 visa argument revives anti-migrant sentiments
The strained logic underprinning the thesis that 457 visas are supressing inflation and wages veers into Hanson-esque language in its argument against migration, writes Andrew Bartlett.
10,000 457s a month keeping down inflation — and wages
457 visas are now being granted at a rate of more than 10,000 a month. In June, 1,200 of those visas took less than a week to process, writes Michael Pascoe.
Is carbon trading another GST?
Is an emissions trading scheme Kevin Rudd’s GST? asks Charles Richardson.
Parliament greenlights dodgy tax office settlements
After a two and a half year inquiry into tax office administration that spanned two Parliaments, the Joint Committee Of Public Accounts and Audit have concluded…wait for it…drum role please…A simpler tax system is needed in Australia, writes Chris Seage.
Welfare and the working family: someone do something
The elevation of Simon and Sonya Dorries of Brisbane to national fame is an elegant example of how utterly skewed political debate has become, writes Bernard Keane.
Three cheers for Queensland’s coal royalty slug
Whilst no-one likes tax rises, Wayne Swan and Anna Bligh should be congratulated for together slugging the North West Shelf and Queensland coal miners with a $1.1 billion tax rise for 2008-09, writes Stephen Mayne.
Barns: Henson a victim of abuse of process
Bill Henson is the victim of vigilantism and a police force seeking to utilise the criminal law in a way that borders on abuse of process, writes Greg Barns.
GST and fuel excise: A taxing argument
Every time there’s a new problem for the Government it gets whacked onto the tax review. Now it’s an investigation of the interaction of the GST and fuel excise, writes Bernard Keane.
Your Say: Daily Mail readers' feedback: Comments, corrections, clarifications, and c*ckups
The politics of the surging cost of oil … Tania Zaetta … Wollongong’s “table of knowledge” … rorting surgical billing … tax cheats and tax babies …
Labor targets 600,000 tax cheats
The announcement by the Australian Taxation Office yesterday they are targeting 600,000 Australians who have purchased a motor vehicle valued at over $57,009 has sent shock waves through the Australian luxury automobile industry as well as aspirational voters, writes Chris Seage.
