En Passant

I wrote this – Abolish the GST and tax the rich instead – over 2 years ago. In light of calls to increase the GST rate from 10% to 15%, it remains relevant today. Hit the link to read the whole article.

My article on the real leaners using information about tax avoidance and poverty will be in the next edition of Solidarity Magazine. Subscribe.

My article on tax avoidance and tax reform in the hot off the presses Solidarity Magazine​.

I conclude:

The revelations about how little tax big business pays undermine any proposals for new or increased taxes on workers and the poor, or cuts to government spending. Every time Abbott or Hockey talk about the need to reform our tax system or cut social spending on workers and the poor, we now have a simple rejoinder—stop the cuts and tax the rich.

To read the whole article click here.

My article ‘Selfish corporate giants dodging all the tax they can’ will be published in Solidary magazine next week. You can subscribe to Solidarity magazine here.

Given that both Joe Hockey and Chris Jordan are possibly undermining the work of the Senate and this committee by not providing the names of the tax rorters, and supporting that decision, the question has to be asked: Are the Treasurer and the Commissioner of Taxation in contempt of the Senate and the Committee? If so, why aren’t their actions being investigated with a view to prosecution?

Given the widespread opposition to the 2014 Budget, the one percent have drawn an important lesson from that debacle – consult with the intended victims before launching attacks on poor people and workers. That is what the tax discussion paper is about. This Damascene conversion to talking to people begs the question – is a tax shit sandwich no longer a shit sandwich if it has consultation sprinkles on top? To ask the question is to answer it. The solution to the tax and budgetary dilemmas seems pretty clear. Tax the rich.

Private company owners told the Abbott government they feared being kidnapped if the public knew how much their private companies were worth and their income. The government fell for it. What nonsense. If you believe this kidnap crap, I have a bridge in Sydney I would like to sell you too.

No doubt all those companies in Vanuatu (especially those with some sort of Australian connection) which have benefited from not paying any income tax there and perhaps reducing their Australian and other country tax will be chipping in lots to help the country after the catastrophic Cyclone Pam destroyed a number of lives and livelihoods. Oh …

Labor’s tax avoidance crack down statement was the old pea and thimble trick. It wants to give the impression of doing something about big business tax avoidance (always a popular issue among ordinary workers) without really frightening the big business horses. Pathetic is the word that comes to mind.