Opaline, not entirely sure where you are heading with this comment "Tax rates certainly dropped, especially those of us on higher incomes but this was more than offset by increasing tax payments on higher income."
Are you saying income tax was reduced which meant you paid more income tax? Every single tax payer now pays a lower percentage tax rate due to the Costello tax cuts over the last decade, you don't pay more.
If your tax bill increased every year under Howard, it was because you were earning more every year, very basic accounting Ops, you pay more money the more you earn.
The introduction of the GST was a brilliant move which has meant people like the late Kerry Packer, who was spending $22,000 on a case of wine and paying zero tax on it and also paying extremely low levels of taxes due to creativity on behalf of his accounting and legal entourage, had no choice but to pay taxes on every purchase he made. The people that were avoiding paying the most in tax for luxury items were forced to pay GST on these items. Dumb moved by the Howard government huh?
