I voted for Howard too.

I fuckin hate politicians. Gets my blood boiling.

Having said that, trying to determine a budget that is going to make everyone happy just isnt a reality.
I would prefer though that the ones left unhappy by it, are the ones who have all the money, not the battlers.

They give away millions to other countries in relief funds, then slug us with a tax when Queensland has an
overabundance of wind and rain. STOP GIVING AWAY ALL OUR FUCKING MONEY YOU STUPID RANGA.

The aforementioned parliament members numerous pay rises also is a pet hate of mine. I think pay figures for
members for parliament should capped. They are supposed to be there acting in the best interest of the people
they represent, not to line their own pockets.

I would love to be a politician and try to remind them of this, but I think I would just end up going postal.

RAGE RAGE RAGE :pain10: :BangHead:

Rebuttal -

We are one of the lower donating countries in the world. It is something that is required as a UN member I do believe. (could be wrong)

Pay for politicans isnt all that high in reality. We give top end football players 500-600k a year to kick a piece of shit ball, yet the PM gets 280k?

Many politicans come from backgrounds where they could earn considerably more than they do as a member of parliament. Fairly sure Howard made twice as much in a year as a speaker than he did as PM.

Yes, they get the perks, but they are shaping (rightly or wrongly) the nation.

How does any of this matter when you're Italian?

[I]Cash isn't taxed.[/I]

For Colonials summary take on the budget refer attached.

Increased cash supplied to ATO for audits and budgeted expected return on said audits was extremely high.

[QUOTE=teejay;676248]Rebuttal -

We are one of the lower donating countries in the world. It is something that is required as a UN member I do believe. (could be wrong)

Pay for politicans isnt all that high in reality. We give top end football players 500-600k a year to kick a piece of shit ball, yet the PM gets 280k?

Many politicans come from backgrounds where they could earn considerably more than they do as a member of parliament. Fairly sure Howard made twice as much in a year as a speaker than he did as PM.

Yes, they get the perks, but they are shaping (rightly or wrongly) the nation.[/QUOTE]

All fair points TJ. In truth I dont disagree with anything you have said, just cant help having a rant.

I do think that they should at least limit politicians pay rises to once per year and that they should only receive the CPI increase like most others, instead of approving the usual 7% or so for themselves.

Budget is for the sheep masses to think they are getting some of the so called mining 'boom' money. Great marketing for the election.

Cutting money on defense? Crazy. All this talk of 'surplus' when we still have massive debts to pay off. Marketing.

Sure there are some unexpected things like the offsetting of losses for companies... But really, if you are making consistent losses why are you in business?

I do like how the strategy is to have the ATO audit more people to get more income. That's good (I'm not a fan of tax cheats), but hopefully it won't mean stupid back dated law changes from the ATO to get a cash grab off Mum & Dad 'investors'.

I'm sure when KRudd was initially voted in, we were meant to be receiving tax cuts by now... Not tax increases.

[QUOTE=Saint_23;676245]

I would prefer though that the ones left unhappy by it, are the ones who have all the money, not the battlers.

[/QUOTE]

But who are the battlers?

As mentioned there are very wealthy people not declaring any income to the ATO - this is rampant and GST/ABN's did not fix the cash economy. Those same people are receiving cash handouts.

Generally, each year with inflation the rich get richer and as a result they pay more tax. Taking this extra tax and giving it to the 3 genuine battlers in Australia I have no problem with - help them keep up with inflation. Where I take offence is where you have complete muppets giving away cash and wasting money to people who will never work unless forced then increasing the tax those higher earning people pay that are doing the right thing.

‎"We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." - Winston Churchill

People like my parents who get a massive ~17k in disability pension deserve all the help they can get. Seeing them struggle to live even a basic life is fucking depressing.

Those who screw the system for their own benefit are scum.

[QUOTE=Trexx;676262]But who are the battlers?[/QUOTE]

The people who live by the rules (law), work hard and pay their taxes, but still find it hard to provide for their family.

As TJ says, those at rort the system can go fuck themselves.

[QUOTE=teejay;676263]People like my parents who get a massive ~17k in disability pension deserve all the help they can get. Seeing them struggle to live even a basic life is fucking depressing.

Those who screw the system for their own benefit are scum.[/QUOTE]


Do you mean 99% of self employed income earners in Australia, although I wouldn't call them scum :D