ansett all over again., page-32

Hi rockme,

You are certainly right about the government ruining Oz. But it is not just this Labor government it is every government.

The main problem here is that Australian business is trying to operate on the world scale but they are being hamstrung by an uncompetitive taxation regime. Australia is competing with other countries that charge 0-30% tax and have more generous depreciation schedules. As Emirates is Qantas' biggest competitor, I'll use Dubai for example,

"For individuals the only taxes in Dubai are:
» Tax on alcohol purchased at an off-licence (liquor store)
» 5% municipality tax on rented accommodation – collected through utility bills issued by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA)
» 10% municipality tax (and 10% service charge) on restaurant and hotel bills – generally included in the price displayed
» Customs duties on goods imported over the duty free limits."

So Dubai can pay more in take home pay(cash in the pocket) than we can in OZ, yet because our tax is so high, our headline rates appear much higher than what a worker gets in Dubai. The reality is, the worker in Dubai is compensated better than an Australian.

IMO this is what is ruining Oz, we are uncompetitive at the government level, which flows through to business. The Qantas workers are after wage increases in line with inflation(which to the average person is reasonable)and the introduction of this new carbon tax is only going to advance the reality that the average worker is falling further behind.