[pugsville]

Looking very much like a total lair on this one and other things,

Are the posters who heap abuse on Gillard going to do the same to Abbot for this?

[GandalfTheGrey]

Get ready for 2 and a half years of "deceit tax" campaigning

Well, Tony, you reap what you sow...

[at946]

Not being a "Shock Jock " listener myself ,has Allen Jones and the like started a rabid attack on Abbot like they did on Gillard ,?

[redcarpet]

has Allen Jones and the like started a rabid attack on Abbot like they did on Gillard ,?

Didn't Tony Abbot's parents die of shame?

[Swagman]

Looking very much like a total lair on this one and other things,

Are the posters who heap abuse on Gillard going to do the same to Abbot for this?

What new taxes?

[pugsville]

The "debt levy" it's a new tax. It's a clear breech of Abbot's election promise. After moaning about the budget endlessly BEFORE the election, there is absolutely no excuse for this breaking of a promise. He's clearly lied to the Austrlian public in order to get elected.

If you applied the same standards swag that you did to the labour government you should be condemning him loudly.

[redcarpet]

And flirting with increasing the GST. True, not a 'new' tax, but still to increase it would count as
breaking an election pledge. Esp. the 'no surprises' pledge. All these things leaking out into the press
were not announced in the Liberal platform and has no mandate for. Thankfully most need legislation for so
the Senate could block them, as long as the ALP votes with the Greens, etc, each time.

[Swagman]

The "debt levy" it's a new tax. It's a clear breech of Abbot's election promise. After moaning about the budget endlessly BEFORE the election, there is absolutely no excuse for this breaking of a promise. He's clearly lied to the Austrlian public in order to get elected.

If you applied the same standards swag that you did to the labour government you should be condemning him loudly.

Oh I apply the same standards.

It's not a tax, it's a friggin loan repayment.

LABOR racked up the DEBT Pug. ALL Government overspending is in reality a tax increase. Budget deficits are a tax increase.

[pugsville]

weaseling there swag,

They said they wouldn't do it and looks they will at least try.

[Rejn]

This is political suicide. What is wrong with them? Who's idea was this?!

There are plenty of ways to reduce the deficit without introducing new taxes. Cut research grants, privatise Australia Post, get rid of youth allowance etc.

And flirting with increasing the GST. True, not a 'new' tax, but still to increase it would count as
breaking an election pledge. Esp. the 'no surprises' pledge. All these things leaking out into the press
were not announced in the Liberal platform and has no mandate for. Thankfully most need legislation for so
the Senate could block them, as long as the ALP votes with the Greens, etc, each time.

Where has the LNP ever suggested increasing the GST in the past year?

[teedoffshrew]

Apparently Australia Post is privatized. I asked.

[Rejn]

Apparently Australia Post is privatized. I asked.

If it was privatised, it would be open on weekends like any other commercial enterprise. Also, the privatisation of Australia Post was one of the NCOA's recommendations, whose findings were only released this week.

[teedoffshrew]

I thought it was odd that the manager would flat out tell me they were not funded by the taxpayer.
I guess using Corporation status allows you to charge 6 dollars for every document a customer would like to have certified.

That's right. 6 dollars for an ink stamp with a managerial signature. I was miffed. So out of spite, I took my loose change and spent 8 bucks at the pharmacy next door.

Edit

Oh, and I was super embarrassed to learn staff at AP were conning people into 5 cent stamp discounts by making them fill out forms disclosing private information.

Sell that shit off.

[Rejn]

$6! That's pretty ridiculous. I get my documents certified by my friends or family if possible, otherwise I go to the police station as there is a JP there a couple of days a week.

[teedoffshrew]

See, that's the thing with certifications. If you are requiring one, then it pretty much means you're in the middle of something that is laden with process. Process is expensive and time consuming. It's a nice thought to have a JP available here and there for a few hours a week, but it's not practical.

[Rejn]

I was actually considering becoming a JP once upon a time. The application process itself was time consuming and impractical, so I decided not to bother.

[Swagman]

weaseling there swag,

They said they wouldn't do it and looks they will at least try.

Yes I am. No politician of any persuasion should ever promise no new taxes and Abbott should have learnt that from Howard.

I guess using Corporation status allows you to charge 6 dollars for every document a customer would like to have certified. That's right. 6 dollars for an ink stamp with a managerial signature

Try getting a birth certificate in NSW if you don't live in Sydney or Newcastle. $75 for an urgent one. $75 for a printed piece of A4 paper. 'Urgent' apparently means 5 working days. For some ridiculous reason they can't print one on site?

........and people are complaining about paying $6 to see a GP?

This is political suicide. What is wrong with them? Who's idea was this?! There are plenty of ways to reduce the deficit without introducing new taxes. Cut research grants, privatise Australia Post, get rid of youth allowance etc.

Yes however the proposed 'debt levy' is a tax on arguably the rusted on support base of the coalition. Those that actually pay net tax. But for Abbott's no new taxes talk it is actually sensible and hard for the opponents to argue against.

Where has the LNP ever suggested increasing the GST in the past year?

To right the ship, the GST has to go up, marginal tax rates have to go up, assets require privatisation, Govt 'service' require more user payments and company tax has to come down. All together with marginal increases.

[redcarpet]

LABOR racked up the DEBT Pug.

The budget deficit was produced by sub-prime mortgage cheats in the USA, driving down our tax revenues. Not the fault
of the Australian Labor Party's fault

[GandalfTheGrey]

This is political suicide. What is wrong with them? Who's idea was this?!

From reports I've heard, this was yet another Tony Abbott "captain's call" - which he didn't consult with the party. That is why reporters are getting all the leaks from anonymous liberals about what a dumb idea it is - the liberal party is revolting against it, and don't be surprised if on budget night Joe Hockey an Tony Abbott stand up and say "what levy?"

As for the reason - it needs to be viewed through the same lens as Abbott's parental leave scheme. Abbott has several key monkeys on his back in relation to his perception in the electorate. Two of these are being anti-women and pro-the rich. He is attempting to dislodge these monkeys by a couple of "signature" policies - for the women issue, its the parental leave scheme. In regards to being pro-the rich, the issue for Abbott here is that he is pushing a meme about a "tough" budget and the need for sacrifices and the end of the age of entitlement. The problem is that so far all his known policies are about punishing the lower end of town, and rewarding the high end - hitting pensioners and families relying on medicare and bulk-billing, while scrapping taxes on big businesses. This obviously only makes his image here even worse - so he has to come up with something that suggests he wants the big end of town are pulling their weight too. Hence this levy - which is completely pointless - all the economists have been coming out saying it will do diddly squat to reduce our debt, but for Abbott, it has symbolic importance. Or so he thinks - but as I mentioned earlier, it will likely be quietly abandoned.

[GandalfTheGrey]

Try getting a birth certificate in NSW if you don't live in Sydney or Newcastle. $75 for an urgent one. $75 for a printed piece of A4 paper. 'Urgent' apparently means 5 working days. For some ridiculous reason they can't print one on site?


........and people are complaining about paying $6 to see a GP?

You're unlikely to need to apply for a birth certificate several times a week - which is what many families need to do with GP visits.

Consider a family with 4 kids, all getting sick at the same time, and likely have to make several visits to the GP - just for that one bout of illness. How many times will that happen during the year? Suddenly that $6 fee per visit per family member becomes an enormous financial burden for a low income family.